Blu-ray review: Napoleon Dynamite, 10th Anniversary Edition

Napoleon Dynamite 10th anniversary Blu-ray

I was intrigued and also felt very old when I received Napoleon Dynamite's 10th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray to review. The movie was released in 2004 when I was in high school, and I remember how awkward Napoleon was (played by Jon Heder, who I haven't seen in anything recently either, although there's a reason for that - see below) and how the film spawned various catchphrases, such as "Vote for Pedro."

In case you've been living under a rock - here's the film's official synopsis, from Fox Searchlight:

Napoleon Dynamite 10th anniversary Blu-rayFrom the rural town of Preston, Idaho, comes Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder). With a red 'fro, his moon boots, and illegal government ninja moves, he is a new kind of hero. His family consists of fragile brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who's seeking his soulmate in online chat rooms; Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who is stuck in his "glory" days of high school football; and Grandma (Sandy Martin), who enjoys going out to the dunes on her quad-runner. Napoleon spends his days drawing magical beasts, working on his computer hacking skills to impress the chicks, and begrudgingly feeding his Grandma's pet llama. When his friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) decides to run for class president, it is Napoleon to the rescue to help him triumph over adversity.

 I rewatched it with a friend and we were both laughing at some of the more awkward scenes, but overall the film was just okay - it wasn't quite as funny as I remembered it to be. However, it still has quite a "cult following" - I tweeted with the hashtag #VoteforPedro, and when I clicked on the hashtag, a ton of tweets came up.

Some special features that this anniversary edition has are:

  • Commentary by director/co-writer Jared Hess, actor Jon Heder, and producer Jeremy Coon
  • 5 deleted scenes with commentary by Hess, Heder, and Coon
  • Still gallery
  • Easter Egg - Fan Club piece
  • The Making of the Wedding of the Century featurettte

The actual packaging for the Blu-ray is also pretty cool, it has tiger stripes on the front, with the black stripes being velvet-esque to the touch. It comes with two discs - a theatrical feature Blu-ray, and a two-sided DVD.

I'd recommend this movie for anyone who likes awkwardly funny comedy, or is a fan of Heder in general - who, by the way, voice-starred in the Napoleon Dynamite TV show, which ran from January to March 2012. If you're not a fan of awkward comedy, though, you won't enjoy this movie. 

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