Napoleon Dynamite

Have you seen this movie? It came out in 2004 and when I first saw it I *hated* it. It was one of those train-wreck movies that are so bad you can't stop watching it. I didn't know what was happening, or why. It's not that I didn't understand it - it's hardly complex - I just didn't understand why someone would think anyone would care about this mess. So I wrote it off as two hours of my life I'd never get back.

But then a friend whose tastes I usually share and who is a "cinema" buff told me that she loved it. What? Seriously? So, since I respect her opinion, I gave it another shot, this time with an open mind and looking for the ironic humor she swore was I there. And you know what? The second time, I didn't hate it. I kinda got it.

While not my favorite film, or even in my top 50, if I'm flipping channels and it's on I'll stop and watch for a bit. The llama, the interpretive sign-dancing, Napoleon's epic dance at the school assembly - they're funny. I laugh-ish. I can see why a studio picked it up for next to nothing at the Sundance Film Festival and why it has a cult following. It's quirky and irreverent, and it's self-effacingly dumb. There's a certain charm to that.

It's also, at its heart, a "sweet" movie - a story of a friendship between three high school misfits and their families in a town in the middle of nowhere. There's no epic grand finale where they all become fabulous and leave Preston, Idaho. But in their own way they all get their quiet, simple happy endings. Really, what more can anyone ask for than to finish watching a movie and having a smile?

Elizabeth Bennet (yes that Elizabeth Bennet)

For NaBloPoMo, BlogHer is providing Daily Prompts for those days when the muse isn't musing. I had a couple of ideas for today but nothing really gelled, and I've always liked using writing prompts, so I'll probably use them again.

Aaaaanywaaay...today's prompt is "Who Is Your Favorite Character of All Time?" OK, that's practically impossible, especially if you watch a lot of TV *and* read a lot. There are so many fantastic characters out there. There's Scout Finch - who is one rockin' little kid, there's Fanny Brice who was all  kinds of brassy and ballsy, Holly Golightly (the movie version), Lisbeth Salander who's a straight-up bad ass, Hermione Granger who needs no explanation, Annie Hall so effortlessly beautiful and boho-chic and cool, and so many others.

I managed to narrow it down to Jo March and Elizabeth Bennet. I like that Jo is a writer and so determined and disciplined about it. As you can see by my so far hardly inspiring attempts at NaBloPoMo, I am not Jo. She's stubborn, and a little rougher than I would like to think I am, but she's loyal to her family - even when Amy is at her most annoying and destructive.

But finally Elizabeth Bennet won out for me. I love that she doesn't put up with Darcy's crap, and that she doesn't seem particularly concerned about getting married - other than her marrying would be beneficial for the family. She isn't as brusque as Jo but is equally literate and outspoken. She loves her father and her father respects her more than his other daughters, because...can you blame him? We see her accept, with relative grace, Darcy's seeming indifference to her and we see her admit she was wrong in allowing herself to be temporarily charmed by Wickham. She too is tolerant of her family and loves them despite their flaws.

I'd like to be that way, that strong and smart and determined. But is anyone really that way? Do we need to turn to literature or movies or television to find all the different pieces needed to make a "you" that you like? Probably. That's what keeps us coming back for more.