Napoleon Dynamite (PG)

In story terms, Napoleon Dynamite is little more than a thin gumbo of high-school movie clichés, as bumbling nerdling Napoleon (Jon Heder) struggles to find a prom date while aiding his best friend's school election campaign. And yet from this unappetising premise co-writer/ director Jared Hess somehow conjures up the funniest character-driven comedy in recent memory. Gosh, indeed.

Heder is incendiary in the title role, his performance only matched in terms of nuance and detail by that of his director, whose eye for the details of smalltown geekdom is astonishing. Behold the Moon Boots, the elaborate fantasy drawings and Napoleon's wire-wool hairstyle and permanently gaping-wide mouth. And it's entirely thanks to the career-making turns of this duo of Napoleon dynamos that their movie appreciates in value with every passing viewing.

DVD Extras:

Producer Jeremy Coon joins Heder and Hess for an informal chat-track. The topics of conversation range from the preferred brand of on-set beverage (Capri Sun) to the number of takes required to get the steak-throwing scene right (four). Easygoing and affectionate, it's good value, with Hess particularly amusing as he relates much of the on-screen drama to his own childhood. The three are also be called upon to narrate Peluca, the eight-minute short that inspired the eventual feature. Shot in grainy black- and-white on a budget of just $500, it's rougher than sandpaper yet thoroughly charming. A reel of deleted scenes, stills gallery and a brief featurette on the post-credits wedding sequence complete a pretty decent package.

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