by MARK SLUTSKY

Awkward, goofy-looking, kind of funny, alternately likeable and annoying; the Napoleon Dynamite character has a lot in common with the movie that bears his name. Directed by first-timer Jared Hess, Napoleon Dynamite is an indie-comedy with its own brand of handmade, low-budget charm, though it has trouble sustaining its appeal for the full length of a feature.

Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is a gangly, nerdy kid living in rural Idaho. With a tight red afro, big glasses, half-closed eyes and a clipped, nasal way of talking, he's not the most popular kid in his high school, though he seems more or less oblivious to his outsider status. Dynamite lives with his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), a mustachioed computer geek, and his hard-living grandmother (Sandy Martin). When grandma's injured in an off-roading accident, their Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) moves in with the Dynamites. An ex-football player stuck in 1982, when he last had a chance at glory, Uncle Rico now lives in a van and sells Tupperware door-to-door. Also entering the scene around the same time is Napoleon's new (and only) friend, Pedro (Efren Ramirez), a quiet kid who Napoleon enlists as candidate for Student Body President.

One thing you gotta give Napoleon Dynamite is an admirable attention to detail. The goofy '80s-ish wardrobe, the crappy cafeteria food, Napoleon's interest in drawing "ligers" (a lion/tiger crossbreed), the dirt bikes - the movie creates its own little world. As a result there are some very funny moments.

Ultimately, though, a movie like this lives or dies on its characters, and this is where Napoleon Dynamite falls short. Too many of them (like Kip and Uncle Rico) repeat the same basic joke over and over again, and even our hero himself starts to grate. (You can only watch a deliberately irritating character for so long.) Meanwhile, the film's deadpan style, while an understandable choice on the director's part, actually starts to work against it and feels static. It's hard avoiding comparisons, and not particularly favourable ones, to Wes Anderson's films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore), which pull off the quiet outsider comedy thing so much more effortlessly.

Napoleon Dynamite opens Friday, July 2

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