is this a purely american invention like jazz and cartoons?

Give an example.

Was this N.Dynamite inspired or were you watching Can't Hardly Wait or something?

it was inspired when i was watching I Heart Huckabees, actually, and comparing it to Garden State in my head. although the mention of ND being an attepmt at a "wes anderson movie", which i still don't understand, reminded me to ask the smart people.

Did you know that the actors who played Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro both have twin brothers in real life? Bet you didn't know that, did you?

Wooderson? (oops, he wasn't quirky, he was a pimp)

Naah, its adapted from the French Nouvelle Vague cinema of the 60s. The 400 Blows, Jules et Jim, I'm sure there are others. It is also adapted from the post WWII novel structure of a first person narrator telling you of his life changing experiences. The fact remains that much of these movies suck, and are quirky for the sake of quirkiness instead of relying on their innate universality or innate interestingness (is that a word?!) to propel the story. Garden State would be good without all the bs, and that's why I'd give it a B instead of an A that it could have reached. Haven't seen ND or Huckabees, but I think you know what I'm saying.

Nah, I don't think it's purely american. I think the lonely brilliant writer that was a geek in high school who then grows up to write a story where the lead character is "quirky and whimsical"(read:geek) and ends up getting the girl and the best of the jocks is a universal idea.


But, the american psyche is a weird/strange thing that possibly only manifests itself in this type of movie.

well then are their foreign contemporaries doing these sort of movies? is there a guy called the "Puerto Rican Wes Anderson" or "the Spike Jonze of the Antilles"?

So, you are focusing more on the quirk than the style of narrative?

The quirk is because of interwebs dorks like us and a desire to SELL (what could be more American?)

Then again, isn't Yossarian a quirky dude who gets girls (while TRYING to go insane>)?

I think it has something to do with the assimiliation of culture, though, that is caused by everything being basically the same. So, a lot of what comes out is influenced by the same things.
I'm rambling, and need to go check my PO BOX and pick up some stuff. I 'll revisit this later.

I'm pretty sure you have Salinger and Harold and Maude to blame. So yeah, American as far back as that.

Woody Allen was the quirky guy (maybe not in his 20's) fo a long time. He definitely helped to define the quirk comedy in the US.

mainstream american movies are fucked in the bottom

That's a pretty general statement. I would agree that Hollywood turns out a lot of garbage but they also get it right sometimes too.

Depends on your view of mainstream. If by mainstream you mean some retarded action flick with big explosions designed to appeal to idiots, yes, they are fucked. But, I think every one of the movies up for best movie of the year received national releases in theaters and I thought all of them were decent to great.