Writer/director Tim Skousen recreates the cultish small-town culture of Napoleon Dynamite with equally absurd but deft strokes. Although The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang largely proves a rehash of the latter, it boasts of a refreshingly crisp non-chronological narrative structure which, in many ways, makes it a more complete film that NP was.

The story is also more focused, zooming in on a nerd gang that stumbles upon Bigfoot findings in the woods. They decide to tell the police and media about it to see if the tracks actually belong to the mythical Sasquatch. It is set in an unnamed small town in America during an unnamed decade. For conflicting clues, the video store only carries VHS format – but ebay.com exists. The nerd gang is headed by Gavin (Jeremy Sumpter) who regrettably never truly embodies the nerd his character is made out to be. By contrast, all other characters gleefully channel Napoleon Dynamite and its sprawling surge of geekdom in the form of recording fantasy films, hanging out in the video store, doing amateur detective work and engaging in medieval sword-fighting.

Let us talk about structure. Clever comic book montages are interjected at the beginning of each new segment and each of these segments tells the story from one or two character's point of view, covering the chain of events with a fresh perspective. The film is only 84 minutes long and it feels every bit as condensed, giving us no remotely disposable passages. Central to all detours and diversions is the mighty Bigfoot and the level of seriousness with which people regard this phenomenon is hilarious. The humour in general is often in-tune and arguably the consistently bare-chested "Shirts" (Joey Kern) sits in the front row for laughter in the film. Indeed, the The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang tips over into absurdist humour with the same frequency as Napoleon Dynamite but it sadly never manages as funny as the latter. This can best be attributed to the lack of novelty of the dark indie quirkiness two years later.

The acting is generally atrocious, it needs to be said. Great comedy often stems from this, but in the end the hamminess of the performers is simply awe-inspiring as they choke on line after line and overdo the absurdity of the situations. Of course, stellar acting is not in focus in a film like this these shortcomings are easily overlooked. I think Tim Skousen has done something rather safe but still enjoyable here: he has taken a big gulp out of nerd culture, nodding politely to Napoleon Dynamite, and plugging his product in with cameos by John Heder and Jon Gries. The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang is funny, quirky, short, sweet and forgettable enough to watch over and over again.

7 out of 10

A group of fantasy loving teenage nerds stumble upon large footprints in the woods and believe that they have found evidence of a Sasquatch. After reporting their find to the police and the press, a renowned authority on Bigfoot comes to town to investigate. Meanwhile, a pair of white trash neighbours try to profit from the discovery.

From the guys that brought you Napolean Dynamite, and it shows, in the writing, the directing, and the acting. The Sasquatch Gang desperately wants to be Napolean Dynamite 2, so much so that it even features Dynamite actor Jon Gries, plus a cameo for Napolean himself, Jon Heder. The film tries so hard to replicate the Napolean Dynamite formula that it all proves rather irritating: blatantly copying a cult hit isn't clever, it's desperate. And is it just me, or do Zerk and Shirts (Justin Long and Joey Kern) behave a lot like Beavis and Butthead? I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the animated duo was their inspiration.

Next time people, don't imitate... innovate!

A tale of three sword-wielding super-geeks who believe they've stumbled upon evidence that Bigfoot lives in the woods outside of town, "The Sasquatch Gang" is so goofy and good-natured in its demeanor and tone that only a complete curmudgeon would be mean enough to criticize it.

Jeremy Sumpter (of TV's "Friday Night Lights") leads the trio of mono-toned, monosyllabic nerds who regularly suffer the slings and arrows (or, more accurately, paint-ball guns) of the even more zonked-out and inarticulate town bullies, led by Justin Long.

The movie has just enough wit, tenderness and charm to overcome some of its essential blandness, and its portrayal of first love can be really quite endearing at times. However, the movie is considerably less successful when it goes for the broadly comic, becoming merely juvenile and silly at such moments.

Concerned parents should note that "The Sasquatch Gang" is more than appropriate for a pre-teen/early teen audience (think of it as the "clean" version of "Superbad" or "Revenge of the Nerds"). Anyone older than that, however, may find it a bit too much on the innocuous side to be worth their time or money.