One of the two worst independent films of the year

So it took until its release on DVD for me to catch up with Napoleon Dynamite. What can I say - it's a remarkable piece of crap. Its contextually massive box office success can only be chalked up to the marketing power of MTV who co-produced the film - probably so that the filmmakers could afford the music cues smattered throughout the film in a vain attempt to add ironic emotion to a film that mocks anybody in the audience for feeling anything other than contempt. The dreadful script contains barely a single moment of dramatic interest, lending the film an inertness that it seems to aspire to. The main character usually has zero motivation - he doesn't want anything much of the time, and when he does figure out something he wants he is just as likely to change his mind in a split second. The only way this film can play well to an audience is if they are laughing AT Napoleon, so basically the film is an exercise in the cinema of cruelty. And worse - it rewards the audience for feeling superior to the characters. Say what you will for cinematic sadists like Lars Von Trier, or even willfully difficult brats like Harmony Korine and Todd Solondz, at least they genuinely have no desire to win their audience over. Jared Hess, the director, wants the audience to love his skills while despising his characters. That's just inhumane. This goes on the short list with Welcome to Mooseport, Van Helsing, Open Water, and The Village as the worst films of the year.

And speaking of year-end lists: I will publish a year's best list as soon as I see the final few films that are trickling around the country. Specifically Beyond the Sea and Million Dollar Baby.