For about an hour and a half it’s OK to be a nerd. In fact, if you don’t get in touch with that inner, sci-fi loving self while watching “Gentlemen Broncos,” you’ll probably find yourself twiddling your fingers out of boredom.

The new film from Jared Hess, director of “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre,” takes us into a new world of spacey awkwardness.

In classic Jared Hess fashion, this movie opens with a creative montage filled with retro sci-fi book covers for each prominent member of the cast and crew. The 1969 hit from Zager and Evans, “In the Year 2525,” sets the tone and hurls the viewer back in time. Lasers, spacesuits and rockets: you’ll get it all.

“Broncos” tells the story of Benjamin, a home-schooled introvert with the social tenacity of a grapefruit, who aspires to be a prodigious sci-fi novelist like his idol, Dr. Ronald Chevalier.

Desirous to follow Chevalier’s lead and become published at a young age, Benjamin enters his most recent story, “Yeast Lords,” in the Cletus Festival writing competition, a gathering of Utah high school students with stories to tell. His breakthrough story catches the eye of Chevalier who, with some creative liberty, turns it into his own critically praised novella in an attempt to revitalize his flailing career.

Interspersed throughout the film are three versions of Benjamin’s story that give us a glimpse into the cult world of sci-fi productions through the eyes of Benjamin, Chevalier and Lonnie, a budding film maker who shoots his films on the kind of shoulder-resting camera you’d find in a thrift store. Although the ridiculousness of each version is accented by a slew of anatomical humor that you’d expect from a pubescent teen, the jokes are guaranteed to make even the older crowds chuckle as Hess pays homage to low budget special effects and planets with multiple moons.

“Broncos” returns to the unpolished feel of “Napoleon Dynamite” and avoids the polished vibe given off by “Nacho Libre.” However, its low budget didn’t force any compromise of comedy.

With an all-star cast, Hess thrives with a creative flair that capitalizes on the bland and drab. The film begins strong, charging forward with unfettered laughs and moments of hilarity, but has a fairly noticeable pocket of story development where jokes are hard to come by. Hess’ familiarity with the culture of Utah, where the film was shot, adds a layer of comedy that will leave locals unknowingly exposed and foreigners nodding their heads in agreement with the homely stereotypes. While the project will probably be shot down by the laser beams of critics, check out the film if you’re looking for a fresh batch of classic Hess humor. 

“Gentlemen Broncos” opens today in limited release at the Cinemark 24 Jordan Landing theater (7301 S. Jordan Landing, West Jordan), at the Jordan Commons (9400 S. State St., Sandy) and at Broadway Centre Cinemas (111 E. Broadway, Salt Lake City).