It’s a battle of the indie comedies this week, as we look at Greenberg versus Napoleon Dynamite
Ben Stiller is back and he’s gone Indie Drama Comedy in his latest film ‘Greenberg’ and we at Movies.ie decided it only right for Stiller to battle it out for a place in the Indie hall of fame and so we pit him against one of the most famous Indie characters of our generation, Napoleon Dynamite.
This week’s Movie Wars pits two of the biggest losers we’ve ever seen against each other in a battle to determine which one of them really deserves to be the Indie King!
Plot vs. Plot
Greenberg is the story of Roger Greenberg, mid-forties bachelor who has never really done anything with his life and is now coming to a crossroads. When he finds himself house-sitting for his rich successful and happily married brother, Greenberg is determined to make something of his life and endeavours to reunite with old friends and make a fresh start on his life but like everything else in his sad life nothing ever goes to plan but when he meets his brother’s PA Florence suddenly he finds himself wondering if life really is all that bad.
Napoleon Dynamite is about an awkward teenager of the same name trying to just get by in life. Living with his grandmother, older brother Kip and their llama, Napoleon doesn’t really fit in anywhere, at home or at school and so spends his days drawing, playing tetherball and dancing. When he makes friends with Pedro, a transfer student from Mexico and Deb, a shy and quiet girl, Napoleon begins to make small changes in his life but never changes who he really is and embarks on a journey to help his friend Pedro win the school election.
Both of the films plots have their selling points but in both cases it’s not really the plot that’s important and so this round is deemed a tie.
Trailer vs. Trailer
Neither trailer is overly impressive so this round is also a tie!
Greenberg vs. Dynamite
Going into our final round it’s still nil all (this isn’t a World Cup Reference) and so it comes down to the characters themselves, which one of our two indie combatants is the most pathetic but loveable…
Napoleon will always remind us of that guy we all knew in school (and in some cases that guy we WERE in school) – the awkward, quiet and altogether weird guy who never really said anything to anyone. His life is by no means enviable and even when he triumphs at the election hustings by performing his dance, we are left cringing in between our laughter. In the end though we do want Napoleon to succeed and he even gets the girl, and we only hope that he changes for the better only even if he changes just a little.
Greenberg, is apathetic, cynical and has pretty much given up on having any real sense of meaning in his life. Unapologetic about his lifestyle, when he meets Florence, he suddenly finds himself wanting a little more and learning that even with the tiniest amount of effort you could have a little happiness in your life.
It’s a tough one but we are going to give the point to Greenberg – Napoleon managed to make some life changes and bring himself some success while still a teenager, it took Roger Greenberg until his forties to realise where his life was going wrong – making him the more pathetic of the two!
With one point, Greenberg is deemed the Indie King and winner of this weeks Movie Wars.
Words: Declan Doody