Napoleon Dynamite

Unspooled

Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson

Tv & Film, Film Reviews

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Paul and Amy pack their pockets with tots and revisit Napoleon Dynamite, looking at the film's offbeat performances, DIY production, and how this quirky slice of Idaho life spawned memes, merch, and a forever spot in cult comedy history. You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul’s Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul’s book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing on his Substack https://substack.com/@paulscheer Episodic Art by Kim Troxall: https://www.unspooledart.com/ Learn more about the show at Unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and on Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or where you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The year 2004.
0:03.4	How aren't you have any good skills?
0:06.0	What do you mean?
0:08.0	You know, like, numtruck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills,
0:14.0	computer hacking skills, girls only one boyfriends who have great skills.
0:19.0	The movie.
0:23.2	Napoleon Dynamite.
0:37.7	Hello, everyone, and welcome to unspooled. Yes, welcome to Unspooled.
0:40.4	Yes, welcome to Unspooled. This is a podcast about good movies, critical hits, fan favorites, mustsies, and in case you missed them.
0:46.5	We have covered the AFI top 100 and now we are checking off movies from three major lists.
0:52.1	The Letterbox top 250 films with the most fans.
0:55.2	The IMDB top 250 and the New York Times 1,000 essential films.
1:00.4	And we will be chasing our own curiosity as well.
1:03.4	You and I talked about varieties, must see comedies,
1:06.7	their hundred best comedies.
1:08.5	The movie we're talking about today is on that list.
1:11.4	And I got to say, I had not seen it until only recently.
1:15.4	I am Paul Shear.
1:16.6	I'm an actor, writer, and director.
1:19.1	And I have to say, a late in the game, Napoleon Dynamite supporter.
1:24.6	Wow, really late in the game.
1:26.4	Really late.
	...

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