I lately rewatched Napoleon Dynamite for the primary time in years and was reminded that comedy is likely one of the trickiest genres to age gracefully. What has audiences rolling within the aisles one decade usually feels dated or problematic within the subsequent. Raunchy Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties comedies constructed on gross-out gags not often survive the shift in generational humor. However Napoleon Dynamite, greater than twenty years since its 2004 debut, proves an exception. Watching it with my fourteen-year-old daughter, I used to be shocked by how nicely the film’s greatest jokes nonetheless maintain up.
I sat down to look at Napoleon Dynamite with my Gen Z daughter, anticipating little various well mannered chuckles. In any case, the movie sits at a modest 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. As a substitute, I used to be floored when she burst into real laughter time and again. It is surreal, awkward, and oddly healthful humor—anchored by unforgettable offbeat characters—has aged like fantastic wine. By the point the credit rolled, she was prepared to start out it over, proof that Gen Z may truly respect Napoleon Dynamite much more than we did again within the day. Listed below are the jokes that landed hardest and why they nonetheless maintain up.
I Caught You A Scrumptious Bass.
One of many strangest but sweetest strains within the movie comes on the movies ending when Napoleon meets up together with his crush, Deb, performed by solid member and baby star Tina Majorino, on the tetherball pole, and as a substitute of holding a boombox over his head or handing her flowers or a mixtape, he proudly gives, “I caught you a scrumptious bass.”
What makes the second enduring is its sheer oddity—there’s no irony, no wink on the digicam, simply earnest awkwardness. Youngsters as we speak, rising up in a world hyper-aware of performative social gestures, appear to seek out consolation in this type of quirky sincerity. It’s bizarre, it’s sudden, and it feels utterly genuine to the character. My daughter burst out laughing, not as a result of the road was mean-spirited or edgy, however as a result of it was so completely, hilariously unusual.
Tina, You Fats Lard, Come Get Some Dinner!
Maybe essentially the most quotable line of the movie, Napoleon’s pissed off name to feed the household’s llama, Tina, has been echoing by dorm rooms and group chats for years. What’s exceptional is the way it nonetheless lands with Gen Z.
There’s one thing common a few sibling caught doing chores and yelling at an uncooperative pet. The road has the proper mix of absurdity and relatability. And whereas some comedies and greatest motion pictures of the 2000s relied closely on body-shaming humor, this one avoids cruelty. Napoleon isn’t insulting an individual—it’s a cussed llama—and that distinction makes all of the distinction.
My daughter instantly repeated the road, including it to our rising listing of household quotes and dinner desk lexicon. If a film can organically enter the in-jokes of a family greater than 20 years after its launch, that’s endurance. It is value noting that the road the film’s star, Jon Heder, says he hears quoted again to him most frequently is comprehensible, and I see why.
I See You’re Consuming 1%. Is That As a result of You Suppose You’re Fats?
This second, wherein Napoleon confronts Deb with an unsolicited statement about her alternative of milk, is amongst the listing of films and TV masterclasses in cringe comedy. Delivered with deadpan seriousness, it highlights simply how socially tone-deaf Napoleon may be, whereas additionally poking enjoyable at adolescent insecurities.
The explanation it nonetheless works as we speak is that the humor isn’t punching down. Napoleon isn’t making an attempt to be merciless—he’s making an attempt (and failing) to be insightful. That awkward hole between intent and supply is one thing each teen acknowledges, whether or not in 2004 or 2025.
Watching my daughter snicker at this scene felt like a recognition of shared expertise: the weird method youngsters typically stumble by conversations, saying the precise flawed factor with whole sincerity. The comedy holds up as a result of it isn’t mocking Deb, however exposing Napoleon’s lack of self-awareness.
Ladies Solely Need Boyfriends Who Have Nice Expertise.
From nunchuck expertise to bow looking expertise to laptop hacking expertise, Napoleon’s understanding of romance is hilariously off-base. His conviction that mastering a random set of “expertise” will win him love is each ridiculous and surprisingly poignant.
This line nonetheless resonates as a result of it satirizes a timeless teenage perception: that romance may be “hacked” or earned by some system. For Gen Z, surrounded by on-line tutorials, self-improvement influencers, and algorithm-driven courting recommendation, the joke is even sharper.
My daughter cracked up at Napoleon’s earnest supply, then admitted that she’s heard related logic from classmates who suppose a unusual interest robotically makes them dateable. In a world obsessive about curating identities for social media, the road feels much more related than it did twenty years in the past.
Napoleon’s Drawing For Trisha
Few scenes seize the uncomfortable earnestness of Napoleon Dynamite fairly like when he presents Trisha together with his “inventive” portrait. With full seriousness, he mails her the drawing, and when she calls him, he proudly proclaims:
Took me like three hours to complete the shading in your higher lip.
What makes the joke timeless is the collision of confidence and awkwardness. The drawing is, to place it kindly, unflattering, however Napoleon treats it as a grand romantic gesture. The road is humorous not as a result of we’re laughing at Trisha, however as a result of we acknowledge the misplaced satisfaction of a youngster making an attempt desperately to impress somebody with no matter “expertise,” or “talent,” they’ll muster.
This was a painfully relatable second for my child. For Gen Z, who’re continuously sharing artwork, TikToks, or memes in hopes of gaining approval, the concept of Napoleon spending hours on one thing questionable after which presenting it with utter sincerity hits particularly exhausting. It’s awkward, it’s cringey, and it’s completely hilarious.
Vote For Pedro
Few strains from early 2000s cinema have had the cultural afterlife of “Vote for Pedro.” The slogan, emblazoned on T-shirts in every single place, was greater than only a marketing campaign pitch for Pedro’s college presidency—it grew to become shorthand for celebrating outsiders and underdogs.
What’s exceptional is how nicely the catchphrase nonetheless resonates with teenagers as we speak. My daughter had seen the phrase on thrifted shirts lengthy earlier than she watched the film, however when the precise scene arrived, she laughed tougher than I anticipated. The joke works on a number of ranges: the absurd seriousness of a highschool marketing campaign, the deadpan supply, and the best way Napoleon and Pedro take themselves so significantly whereas the stakes are hilariously low.
For Gen Z, who reside in an period of meme-driven political campaigns and viral slogans, “Vote for Pedro” doesn’t really feel outdated, however as a substitute feels prophetic.
Gosh!
Generally the best strains are essentially the most enduring. Napoleon’s exasperated “Gosh!” is virtually a one-word thesis for the complete movie. It captures his frustration with the world’s incapacity to satisfy his expectations whereas additionally highlighting his peculiar mannerisms.
My daughter laughed each single time he stated it, which was usually. A part of its allure is its repeatability—like “fetch” from Imply Ladies or “as if!” from Clueless, it’s a line you may drop into day by day dialog with out context. And in contrast to a few of its contemporaries, it doesn’t depend on dated slang or offensive stereotypes.
It’s pure, character-driven humor, the type that by no means goes out of favor.
Rewatching Napoleon Dynamite with my teen daughter jogged my memory that the movie’s humor is each timeless and generationally transferable. It’s not about shock worth, raunch, or pop-culture references that age poorly. It’s about unusual, earnest characters who take themselves significantly in a world that doesn’t fairly make sense. That’s why the jokes maintain up: they’re humorous as a result of they’re human. There’s a purpose the film ranks amongst the very best of the highschool classics.
Sharing the film with my daughter—who’s simply beginning highschool—was a full-circle second, a reminder that awkwardness and sincerity are common. When the credit rolled, she checked out me and stated, “Now we have to look at that once more.”
Twenty-one years after its preliminary launch, Napoleon Dynamite isn’t simply surviving, however thriving, proof that offbeat, quirky comedy would be the most enduring sort of all. And if you wish to relive the glory days (or introduce them to a brand new technology), you may stream the endearing comedy with an HBO Max subscription.