Got Tots? Treasured Film Shot In South Idaho Turns 15 This Week
A hilarious movie about friendship among a group of high school-aged dorks--it also single-handedly made Jon Heder a household name, and put a southeastern Idaho city on the map--is officially 15 years old this week.
Napoleon Dynamite was released in June of 2004 and was directed by Jared Hess. A good deal of the movie was filmed in and around Preston, Idaho. The city's high school was the backdrop for many scenes, and several homes in the Franklin County city of more than 5,000 were also featured in the film.
Of all the film's great scenes--of course Jon Heder dancing to "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai at the school talent show is legendary--perhaps my favorite part is when Napoleon and Kip visit the dojo of instructor Rex (played by Diedrich Bader) and decide $300 for an eight week course in which they're going to get the hell slapped out of them on a daily basis, just isn't worth it. Uncle Rico's claim he can throw a football over mountains was a gut buster as well.
Although the film wasn't recognized as anything cinematically spectacular aside from a few teen choice awards, I consider it to be one of the better comedies made.