Napoleon Dynamite Drive-In
It’s been 15 years since the quirky movie “Napoleon Dynamite” became a cult classic, but it still attracts fans to northern Cache Valley where the movie was filmed. Last week when I ended up in Lewiston, Utah for a magazine article, my friend Carol suggested a meet-up at Big J Burgers in Richmond for lunch. This is the site in the movie where, over shakes and onion rings, Kip tells Uncle Rico about his online girlfriend LaFawnduh.
Located along Highway 91 (190 S. 200 West) the burger joint is about 15 minutes away from Preston, Idaho, the main setting for “Napoleon Dynamite.”
It was our great luck that David Johnson was working behind the counter. As we chatted with him, he told us he was there during the scene’s filming. And if you don’t blink while you’re watching it, you might catch Johnson in the background, working in the kitchen.
Why Big J and why Richmond?
Johnson said that the movie’s director, Jared Hess, was from Preston and knew the restaurant’s owners. They also own another Big J in Preston, which was a lot nicer-looking. But Hess specifically asked to film at the Richmond location, as he was going for a more shabby, grubby backdrop.
Since then the Richmond Big J’s has been renovated and spiffed up, so the grubby look is gone.
There’s a wall display of photos and movie memorabilia, such as bowling pins, a Napoleon Dynamite action figure, and a “Vote Pedro” button.
Big J Burgers shares its space with Pizza Villa and Taco Maker; they just have different menu boards. So you can order pizza, burgers, or a dang quesadilla from the same counter. I ordered a beefy quarter-pound burger, and tater tots in honor of Napoleon. “Go find your own tots!”
Johnson remembered that the scene was shot around 6 a.m. to avoid a lot of customers walking in. Staffers had to be really quiet, he said. At the time, Jon Gries, who played the Uncle Rico role, was already known for a few roles — Men in Black (1997) and The Rundown (2003). So staffers asked to take photos with him.
“But we didn’t know what to think of the weird guy in the moon boots,” Johnson said of actor Jon Heder. “He stayed in character the whole time.”
At the time, the Big J staff had no idea what the little project was all about, much less that it would become a big hit. The filmmakers and actors were probably pretty surprised too. Shot with only a $400,000 budget, the film ended up grossing more than $44 million. It’s the No. 1 selling DVD film in Fox Searchlight’s history.
Movie scenes are often filmed with some iconic landmark as a backdrop, such as Central Park or Times Square or Venice Beach. But this was the first feature film for Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess, recent grads from BYU’s film program. Perhaps “stick with something you know” was the mantra.
“Having the limited resources and money that we had to make the film, there was really no other way we could have done it,” Jared Hess told the Deseret News in an interview.”We couldn’t pay money for location fees. It all just had to come from the goodwill of the people in Preston.”
If you happen to be passing through, you can find more Napoleon Dynamite filming sites (the homes, the egg farm, the high school, the Deseret Industries, etc.) on this link: https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/n/Napoleon-Dynamite.php.
And go find your own tots.