“I thought it was funny, but I was concerned people would think it was a hick town,” said Monte Henderson, a cattle farmer who was in the Happiness Is Scrapbooking store on Friday with his wife, Linda. “I have to admit I related to it, though. I mean, I was part of the FFA.”
Linda Henderson added: “I drive a school bus and I can't tell you how many times we've had to tell the kids to reel their little rubber men in from out the window,” referring to a scene where Napoleon threw a rubber doll attached to a string out a bus window and watched it bounce on the pavement.
If the festival thrives, it will be because of Christensen at the chamber. This year's attendance paled compared to last year's 6,000 attendees. Already the town is considering scrapping the US$10 admission. That would be a boon to the likes of Tyra Andrews, winner of the tether ball game, who practiced all year and showed up at the festival with 10 family members.
But what would really give the festival a jolt is the same thing many in Hollywood would like to see: a blockbuster sequel. (The studio has not decided whether to go ahead or not.) Joyce Williams, who owns Happiness Is Scrapbooking, said she recently was talking to a customer service representative from Hewlett-Packard who asked her where she lived. Williams said she told the agent “where Napoleon Dynamite was made.”
“Oh, I know that place,” the representative exclaimed. “My kids love the movie. We'd love to come visit.”
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