Any movie critic can tell you what a newly released DVD is about & spoil the ending for you. I plan to ruin your entire DVD watching experience by highlighting it's flaws, it's missteps, it's examples of poor editing, casting, and point out the ridiculous holes in the plot. If you're cynical, you'll appreciate this valuable service I'm providing. If you're easily impressed, then don't say I didn't warn you.  - Mean Jean

This movie caused internal turmoil in my brain at the very outset by flashing the MTV logo on the screen. Immediately I became quite apprehensive. What does MTV know about entertaining me? Absolutely nothing. And it's not just because I'm ancient. They also have an arrogant disdain for their fan base, seeing naive kids of all ages as little dollar bills walking around unspent, just waiting to be exploited & manipulated into slavishly following whatever fad the powers that be declare is the hot one for the moment. MTV is unrivaled in inventing & seizing budding trends by the throat, choking them into the 'fit for mass consumption' mold & forcibly cramming the limp & lifeless results down consumer's throats until they gag but swallow. But such a rare talent makes MTV completely incapable of providing any sort of originality or thought in entertainment. I soon realized that my fears were unfounded and that this is actually quite an enjoyable movie not very many scenes into this gem of a movie. This is not yet another movie of high school bullies picking on geeks till they implode & come to school & execute some form of revenge. It's also not a pro- dweeb propaganda film from the newest chapter of the Nerd Anti- Defamation League to kick off national "Hugs, Not Swirleys!" week. Having identified what this movie is not, hopefully I can now attempt to figure out exactly what this movie is. 

One thing that becomes immediately apparent about this movie is the mature level humor in it rather than the crude, sophomoric gross out jokes that so many Hollywood script writers delight in. It has that dry, dead pan humor based on irony & the absurd that I relish. None of it came across in a contrived, rerun-aic, 'ho-hum this has been done & said so many times before' way, but rather it was jarringly funny. How on earth MTV managed to churn out a quality movie that the whole family can watch escapes me. There is no foul language in this, nothing even close to wardrobe malfunctions, no scenes of teens going at it like lil' bunny rabbits, I wonder if MTV read the script before they shelled out the cash for it. Although it's a movie about high school kids, it has a much broader appeal than to just that age audience. Scientific research in my informal home lab & 'target audience microcosm' undeniably demonstrates that this flick appeals to a people ranging in age from young & foolish to old & decrepit.

I've never experienced the world of dolts from the inside, before. I've known some in the course of my incredibly long life, and as far as I can tell, the script writers must have had input from some genuine dorks in the writing stages, because Nappy comes across as amazingly authentic, exactly the way I remember the pinheads I used to know. So many movies of this genre just don't convince me that's what nerds are really like. I remember the real life version of your common, everyday, run of the mill laughingstock as being incredibly stupid, interested in extremely obscure & ridiculous pursuits that have little relevance to real life, yet live their lives guided by an unbelievably arrogant attitude- this is exactly how Nappy is portrayed. Usually Hollywood depicts nitwits so unconvincingly that I just know it's the jocks & bullies doing the scriptwriting based on their best guess about what a geek's life consists of. 

I was astonished at how rude Nappy is to everyone when the movie first started, but after a few scenes of what a typical day in his life was like, I could see where all that latent hostility came from. Not only do the kids at his school treat him just like bullies from a generic teen angst movie, but his family is so socially maladjusted it's easy to see where his blockheaded proclivities came from. The formulaic trap of painting Nappy as some silent hero, diligently laboring away to remain civil & polite although the whole world is against him is skillfully avoided. This movie is no lame, tear jerking exercise in emotion wringing, it's much more realistic & funny. Wrenching compassion from the audience would not be amusing, after all. Nappy D. wants your laughs, not your misplaced sympathy. Nappy is rude, sarcastic even to little kids, fiercely hateful to the school bullies, a fully three dimensional antiHero rather than a cartoonish parody of a misfit kid. 

Adding to this movie's interest level are the plots that follow Nappy's 32- year old brother that lives with him and his roller coaster thrill ride® life's quest to find his identity. Is he a future cage fighter? An internet Romeo? A Mormon-esquely attired pseudo- Tupperware salesman? Nappy's nutball Uncle Whatshisface is surely the most idiotic movie character ever invented, and that's high praise. He is the perfect addition to this movie to get the plot striding along briskly. He brings more conflict into Nappy's miserable life, moving in and ruining what little shreds of happiness Nappy manages to scratch out for himself over the course of this movie. The guy is such a stark, raving buffoon, yet that's the only kind of addition that could fit in so perfectly with Nappy's bizarre family structure. 

A movie as funny & interesting as this could have ruined itself with some generic, maudlin, moralistic ending. Nappy D. goes in the opposite direction, happily avoiding the temptation to churn out a Hallmark card- friendly message like some syrupy movie of the week, merely encouraging us to be nice to each other & true to ourselves or some other generic teen movie sentiment. Nope, life's complex, and this movie refuses to dish out simplistic platitudes just because the audience is captive. This is an excellent movie with rich depth & humor, well worth buying & watching many times. 

Buy it used or new, watch it & laugh, MTV & MJS command you!!!

(click here to buy the DVD)