Summary: When my daughters were about eighteen and twenty-ish years old, they told me I must see this movie called 'Napoleon Dynamite'. I wasn't sure I wanted to see it. My daughters generally have good -- or at least fun taste in movies (by my standards). But, 'Napoleon Dynamite' sounded like a movie for the younger generation. My children were born in '82 and '84 and grew up when the first music videos were being rolled out. They assisted me during the years when programing a VCR was still a challenge for the average adult. The first video I actually owned was the two-video set of 'Gone With the Wind'. I was concerned that my children enjoyed watching 'Gone With the Wind' over and over and over. I assumed that it did have something to do with the fact that it was the only video we owned for a while. Sometimes, we did rent other videos from a video rental store. As a concerned parent, I made it my business to buy a couple of videos that were more fitting for young children. Although we were all in love with the Shelly Duvall "Faerie Tale Theatre" series I bought, they still had this desire to watch 'Gone With the Wind' over and over. I was troubled that my children were fixated on a movie with war scenes, dead bodies and a southern town that was literally on fire. After expressing -- or rather, fussing about my concerns to them, I was relieved when they told me that it was the costumes that they liked. They loved looking at the ball gowns the women wore. They loved watching the part where Scarlett made the dress out of the green drapes. They said they liked looking at how the women wore their hair --and, what the women wore to the picnic. They liked the fact that there were so many characters and they liked listening to how they talked. Well, neither one of my daughters grew up with an urge to join the army or burn southern cities. They are certainly not violent in any way. (Although, I do have one who looks for reasons to wear formal gowns.) My concerns were unwarranted -- but one can never be too careful. 'Gone With the Wind' remained one of their all time favorites until 'Absolutely Fabulous' was release on VHS. I totally digressed! I was not planning on going through all of that. So much for stream of consciousness writing. The point I wanted to make is that I wasn't sure I wanted to see Napoleon Dynamite. I saw it, just to spend time with my children. However, I loved the movie. It is one of my favorites. I love that it is about something and about nothing all at the same time. There is humor. There are scenes that tug at one's heart when watching the various characters navigate through their challenges. I love that there is no blood and gore! One of my favorite lines is during the opening scene when Napoleon is riding the school bus to school and a young boy asks him, "What are you going to do today, Napoleon?" And Napoleon answers, "What ever I feel like I want to do! Gosh!" Isn't that what we all strive for -- to make that answer our life motto? No? Just Me? Am I the only one who wants to answer everyday for the rest of my life -- when someone asks, "What are you going to do today, Wambui?" I want to answer with a giant, resounding, "What ever I feel like I want to do! Gosh!"
