For many fans of the teen flick “Napoleon Dynamite,” simply quoting the movie is enough for a laugh.
But history junior Michael Stueben goes beyond quoting — he becomes Napoleon.
Whether walking through the Quad or eating in Highland Dining Hall, Stueben can be seen sporting his “Vote for Pedro” T-shirt, tinted aviator glasses and snow boots tucked into his jeans.
The movie follows the title character, a nerdy high school student who lives with his grandmother, unemployed older brother and bully uncle. Dynamite tries to improve his dancing and drawing “skills” to get girls to like him and helps his misfit friend Pedro get elected student body president, hence the “Vote for Pedro” T-shirt Stueben wears.
The movie spawned several often-repeated lines. It also included a well-remembered disco-hip-hop dance that Dynamite performs in front of the student body during school elections. Stueben said he will “unveil” the dance soon.
Stueben said that when he is in costume, a lot of people recognize him in character, and they laugh.
“I’m always doing outrageous things,” he said. “It’s just for fun — to make people laugh.”
Stueben said that while he is dressed up, he tries to stay in character. Stueben downloaded sound clips from the Internet to help with his Dynamite impersonations.
“I don’t even own the movie,” he said. “I’ve only seen it twice.”
Stueben said he bought most of the costume from the Internet auction Web site, eBay.
He said the first time he walked into class wearing the costume, he arrived late, and everyone turned, looked at him and started giggling.
Stueben said the biggest response he received was when a group of students recognized him in front of the Union.
“They knew the movie and started yelling ‘Vote for Pedro’ and stuff,” he said.
Stueben said his friends like to follow him around on days when he is dressed-up.
“There’s never a dull moment,” he said.
Stueben said he does not dress up every day but chooses to make selective appearances on campus, at parties or at local bars.
But not all of his experiences have brought laughter. Stueben said that once, while at a party, a man quoted the movie and asked, “What are you going to do today, Napoleon?”
Keeping in character, Stueben replied with the movie line, “Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh!”
But the quoter did not think his response was funny. He got mad and threatened to beat Stueben up or stuff him in a locker the way Dynamite is treated in the movie.
Stueben’s friends described him as “outrageous” and a “determined individual.”
Chad Triche, a construction management senior and friend of Stueben, said Stueben is always trying to be funny, and many people ask him, “What is this guy thinking?”
“They think he’s pledging for a frat,” Triche said.
Neal Hebert, a philosophy graduate student who saw Stueben in costume, said it took him a second to recognize Stueben as Napoleon Dynamite.
“I saw him once in the Quad and realized he was dressed up like Napoleon Dynamite and thought, ‘that’s clever,’” he said.
June D’Angelo, a biological sciences senior, saw Stueben imitating Dynamite’s run.
“I thought it was so amazing. I wanted to go run with him,” D’Angelo said. “We thought he lost a bet.”
“Napoleon Dynamite” made more than $44 million at the box office and has recently been released on DVD.