When I first saw the trailer for Tapawingo I thought, “so, kind of like Napolean dynamite?”. After watching it, I can confidently say that initial reaction was accurate. In fact, Napolean Dynamite himself, Jon Heder, steps into the lead role as Nate Skoog.

Tapawingo is the story of an odd ball in his 30s working a dead-end part time job and still living with his mom (and her boyfriend). Nate and his best friend Will Luna (Jay Pichardo) have some big dreams of working as mercenaries, and their dream is about to come true in an outlandish way. They find themselves in charge of the well-being of 15-year-old high school student, Oswalt Eubank- the son of Nate’s boss. Throughout the film we are introduced to a quirky cast of friends, allies, and enemies that Nate comes across as he moves forward to take a stand against Oswalt’s bullies.

Let the record show that the director and writer, Dylan K. Narang, knew what he was going for, and he absolutely achieved it with this movie. The viewer can see where he drew his inspiration from and can feel the amount of love and care placed into this project. This benefits the movie greatly and contributes to a lot of the film’s charm. However, it was at times difficult to find the separation between Tapawingo and films like Napolean Dynamite. While Jon Heder offers a great performance in the role of Nate Skoog, the shadow of his previous work looms large. Nostalgia is a powerful way to draw in viewers, and it was certainly cashed in on by the creative team behind this project.

This is not to say that the movie doesn’t make its own mark on the film world. The production design adds an incredible amount of depth to the film, and the bright and vivid color grading helps the film become more of its own being. It is my belief that, in many of the films made today, we are facing a color deficit. Tapawingo firmly combats that problem. They were not scared to commit to color, and it paid off. The visuals are a strong tool for this movie, from the use of editing to create good comedic timing, to the overall world building that flows throughout the story.

As a comedy, the film succeeds. It has solids gags and bits, and very few fall flat. Sometimes comedies can be a bit overproduced; that is not a concern for this film. There is a bit of a homemade feel to the movie that really helps it find its legs. While I found it to be a fun watch overall, there is a section in the latter half of the movie that I found particularly enjoyable and wanted to see a little more of. It had tighter jokes, better pacing, and felt like the standout of the movie.

At moments this comedy struggles under the weight of its predecessors, but it firmly establishes its own place within the style of film it is going for. If you’re looking for a fun watch, or if you enjoy the offbeat quirkiness of a certain comedy from the early 2000s, you will probably enjoy Tapawingo.