Despite Napoleon Dynamite being more than a decade old at this point (!), I have never gotten around to seeing it. This was one of those hugely improbable smash hits, like The Blair Witch Project or My Big Fat Greek Wedding (or Blair Fat Dynamite for those running out of time to read my gibberish). And yet, somehow, star Jon Heder went on to a somewhat lengthy mainstream Hollywood career.
He made these:
I was working at a movie theater when Benchwarmers opened, and the trailer was on a loop at the concession stand. Good times.
School for Scoundrels was part of Billy Bob Thornton's campaign to be liked for being unlikable, which he began a year earlier in the Bad News Bears remake. No, he started the campaign with Bad Santa. (You can tell he's supposed to be bad because it's in the title.) Actually, people are kind of ambivalent about him now...
Blades of Glory was part of Will Ferrell's campaign to make a movie out of every sport, including racing (Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which is awesome), basketball (Semi-Pro), male modeling (Zoolander), and of course competitive news-anchoring (Anchorman).
Eventually Heder went back to the great high school in the sky, where he voted for Pedro.
You can also thank director Jared Hess for Nacho Libre. Which I do, every day.
Napoleon Dynamite also features Jon Gries, who played Roger
With all due apologies to Jon Heder and Napoleon Dynamite, my favorite unlikely movie star will always be Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who gained fame as "McLovin" in Superbad.
Mintz-Plasse later appeared in two Kick-Ass movies, Role Models, and Fright Night, among other films.
And totally pulled off the fake I.D. If you feel like blaming Bill Hader for that, it's fine, because Bill Hader is awesome in everything, too.
5 comments:
Napoleon Dynamite is awesome. The line that applies to every other Jon Heder movie: That's pretty much the worst video ever made.
It's pick your own next month, Tony. I hope you'll join us.
I have heard of Nacho Libre but have not seen it and Laughed til I cried with Blades of Glory. I have not seen this film until now and there are some classic bits but I found him so irritating...that might be the point actually:)
So, have you still not seen this movie? This is an entertaining post even if it's not quite a review. Thanks for the laughs.
Birgit hit the nail on the head: mostly I haven't gotten around to watching it because I suspect Napoleon Dynamite may be more irritating than amusing. I could be wrong. But I will always have McLovin.
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