Napoleon is an outcast high school student in Idaho who spends his days drawing mythical beasts, duking it out with his fragile brother Kip, and avoiding his Uncle Rico, who is stuck in his “glory” days of high school football. When friends Deb and Pedro come into his life, the trio launch a campaign to elect Pedro for class president. Together, they must rely on their knowledge of cows, piñatas, and Napoleon’s surprise special talent in order to defeat the stuck-up frontrunner, Summer Wheatley. Sporting some sweet moon boots and relying on his illegal government ninja moves, Napoleon Dynamite seeks to become a new kind of hero.

In a modest film made with a ton of heart, Jon Heder gives a truly awe-inspiring performance as the titular character, while writer-director Jared Hess and his co-writer wife, Jerusha Hess, flesh out this world and its characters so brilliantly that it takes multiple viewings to truly savor the magnificence that is Napoleon Dynamite. Like all great comedies, the genius is in the details.