The Napa Boys (2025)

Stupid in the way I want and rough in the way I don’t.

I’m still split on this one. I love a stupid comedy. I will die on the Step Brothers hill, Wet Hot American Summer is a religious text. Napa Boys is in the family but it just didn’t hit the same way, and I keep going back and forth on whether that’s the movie’s fault or mine.

The filmmaking is rough. Like, genuinely tough to look at. I assume the budget was twelve dollars and a case of Yellow Tail but it looks almost documentary-style and not in a fun handheld way, more in a “is this footage” way. I want to give it a pass because indie comedy should get to look weird and cheap, but there’s cheap that’s charming and cheap that’s distracting. This was the second one.

Then there’s the ending. Or, endings, plural. This is a 90 minute movie that wraps up with the patience of Return of the King. It just keeps going. Every character gets a resolution. Then another resolution. Then a coda. I get that it’s part of the joke, the bit is the bloat, but I was checking my watch and the joke stops being funny once you’re actively rooting for the credits.

That said, I’m glad I watched it and I’m glad it exists. We need more movies made by friends doing stupid stuff with no money. The vibe is right even when the execution isn’t.

If you’re looking for the version of this that absolutely cooks, Nirvana the Band the Show: The Movie is right there and it crushes Napa Boys on every axis. Better shot, better written, better acted, funnier. Same DNA, way more refined.

I’ll probably keep thinking about this one. That has to count for something.

Also on Letterboxd