Jon Heder burst on the scene with the hilarious Napolean Dynamite in 2004. Since then, he has shed that image and gone on to a good career in film and TV. His latest film Tapawingo is taking him back into the realm of quirky comedy by director Dylan K. Narang. Could this film offer some of the fun and laughs fans hope for or will it fail to land a kick?

 

Tapawingo follows an oddball who becomes the bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town's family of bullies. The film co-stars Jon Heder, Jay Pichardo, Kim Matula, Sawyer Williams, George Psarras, Paul Psarras, Amanda Bearse, John Ratzenberger, with Gina Gershon and Billy Zane.

 

I had never heard of this film until it showed up in my inbox. The poster alone had me intrigued at to it the cast and silly trailer and I was hoping to dive into something fun and fresh. What I got wasn’t so fresh and new but still managed to entertain walking on familiar ground and wouldn’t work for everyone.

 

While it has nothing to do with it the film feels very much in the world of Napoleon Dynamite and that isn’t a bad thing. I love that movie in every way so anything that can capture that strange, weird energy I am there for. This film doesn’t quite go that far, but it does find its own voice and quirky characters led by Heder who goes all in. The story is simple and filled with nonsense which is why it works complete with some ridiculous and fun martial arts that had me rolling.

 

Not all the jokes hit and feel forced at times, but that is kind of why it also works. The familiar tone complete with a Pedro like character paired with Heder smartly brings that same energy albeit with characters that have more