When does Napoleon Dynamite take place? I've been trying to figure this out for awhile since there's mixed clues. Does the director just not want the audience to know this? 1986-1989? - style of dress (zubaz pants, puffy sleeves, tight jeans) - Uncle Rico's old Dodge van - old furniture like the tv - dialup internet - Uncle Rico: "she said I'm stuck living in '82" -> referring to his HS memories and he looks now like he's in his mid-late 30's. 1998-2000? - Summer's Happy Hands group does their skit to Backstreet Boys' "Larger than Life", which came out in like '99 - Uncle Rico has a cell phone - Kip's hip hop clothes (Fubu and skullcap) weren't popular till this time - Pedro's cousins' low riders on Dayton rims -> not popular till this time All that said, I'm leaning towards the 80's (1987?) since that's what most of the indications show.
I got the impression that it's more Napoleon's circle of friends being behind the times than actually taking place in the past.
Found this in wikipedia, but I'm not sure I buy into all of it. Just doesn't make sense. While the film is set in the present day, it contains many parachronisms. For example, the music playing at the school dance is from the 1980s, featuring "Forever Young" by Alphaville and Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time". Other vestiges of earlier decades include fashion trends that reflect those of the 70s and 80s, such as Napoleon's moon boots and Deb's side ponytail. The top-loading VCR in the Dynamite residence resembles those from the early 1980s. Throwbacks to the 1990s include music by Backstreet Boys, the Summer's Happy Hands Club performing to Max Martin and Jay Orpin's "Larger than Life", and music by Jamiroquai used in the choreography of Pedro's skits (their song "Canned Heat" is used for the scene in which Napoleon dances). Also, the TV resembles a 1990s model, and some of the shows resemble 1999 pop culture, especially the exercise commercials. The type of imitation Tupperware Uncle Rico is seen selling door-to-door has not been available for purchase for many years. The grandmother's house phone, a slim-line wall-mounted telephone with 25 foot extension cord was first available in the early 1970s. Kip does use the Internet for dating and Rico uses it to purchase a "time machine". However, the style of computer is arguably from the mid- to late- 1990s, and he uses a dial up internet service that charges users by the minute, a practice uncommon in the U.S. in the late 1990s. The music playing in the Pontiac is the 80's funk song "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Zapp & Roger. Finally, Napoleon's school ID card, as shown in the opening credits, clearly reads "2004/2005", unambiguously setting the movie in the present day, despite the film's abundance of elements suggesting otherwise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Dynamite
the way i interpreted it was that it was present time, but people in idaho are just 15-20 years behind on trends.
I thought anywhere between 1992-1995. I didn't think dial up internet was common before 1994. Napoleon Dynamite is in my top three comedies of all time.
Wow I'm surprised people even cared about this movie. I really hated it. Thank God I didn't watch it in theaters or I would've walked out.
Ha! I watched it three times in the theatres, and I'm a person who doesn't even like to watch a movie again on dvd after I've seen it at the theatre. For a reference point, what are some of your favorite comedies? Just wondering.
Uh oh. The polarizing effect of Napolean rears its ugly head again. Let's not get started on Will Ferrell movies... (or should we? I personally love the bizzare, crazy, funny because it is awkward type humor)
THREE times? I can't even watch my favorite movies that many times in theaters. I don't know how you can do that. I just can't see how people can be so infatuated with the movie. I applaud it for its originality, but maybe it's something I'm not getting and you might be able to help me understand. As for your question it's hard to say what my favorite comedies are, but they range from Monty Python, Police Academy movies to Shaun of the Dead and the Wedding Crashers. Heck, I actually found Borat to be quite humorous the first time around and I"m pretty sure this is where you and I will disagree as well.
Im pretty sure its set in present day. It seems like its older because of the fact it takes place in BFE, Idaho.. where cell phone coverage and cable internet dont exist much...
It's definitely set in present day and that's one of the main reasons why the movie is so funny. The entire movie is mocking their way of life and how backwards they live, and a big part of that is their rural community being slow to adopt new trends and live in the present.
I think it's supposed to be in the present day, but it's making fun of small town Iowa Also, Uncle Rico is at least 40, and he was 18 in 1982, which would be about right for present day
