When Napoleon Dynamite came out in 2004, I dutifully went to the theater and saw it, eager to catch up with whatever the new hip thing for college students was at the time. And I laughed. But I never saw the movie again, and definitely never signed on to this whole trend of casting Jon Heder in movies, for one, and making two dozen “Napoleon Dynamite-esque” indie movies every year. It turns out that Napoleon was a virus, and we were all unwilling accomplices in spreading it.
The latest symptom is yet another movie starring Heder, Loudermilk, which The Hollywood Reporter-- surprise, surprise—describes as the story of “a Napoleon Dynamite-like oddball who becomes contaminated with a substance that gives him what might arguably be considered superpowers.” The movie is the first production by Greasy Entertainment, which is a partnership between Heder and his brothers Dan and Doug.
It’s hard to decide if it’s disappointing or encouraging that the movie will be directed by Craig Zobel, who made last year’s indie success Great World of Sound. I wasn’t totally crazy about Great World of Sound, but most everyone else was, and it was at least something different—a regional comedy-drama that didn’t ladle on an ounce of quirk. So what is Zobel doing with Jon Heder, whose Napoleon is the crown prince of quirk? This could go two ways, I figure: Zobel pulls a David Gordon Green and adds his unique style to movie that could be totally dumb otherwise (like in Green’s upcoming Pineapple Express). Or Zobel could get sucked into the Heder machine and pump out something that’s exactly what we expect. At least maybe he’ll be able to use the money to make another good indie movie.
