Vince Gilligan won a screenwriting competition shortly after graduating college, and producer Mark Johnson helped him find an agent and sell scripts to Hollywood. Wilder Napalm was one of the two screenplays along with Home Fries that turned into films during this time in his career.[2]
Plot summary
Wallace and Wilder Foudroyant are brothers and pyrokinetics. Ever since a childhood tragedy where they accidentally killed a homeless person sleeping in a friend's "secret clubhouse," they have kept their firestarting abilities a secret. Now that they are grown up and estranged, Wallace (performing as Biff the Clown in a traveling carnival) wants to debut his talents on The David Letterman Show. Wilder has a monotonous job in a minuscule Kwik Foto booth at a dying mall and is a volunteer firefighter.
When Wallace brings the carnival to Wilder's Florida hometown, the tension between the brothers over Wilder's oversexed wife, Vida, explodes. Unable to convince Wilder to forgo his Bingo-calling on her first day of freedom after a year of house arrest for inadvertent arson, Vida goes off with Wally. They share a kiss at a miniature golf course, which bursts into the flames of their passion.
Returning home after he and the other firefighters have extinguished the flames at the golf course, Wilder discovers Vida and Wally about to make love on the roof of the house trailer. Wally and Wilder fight it out, with Wally setting the trailer ablaze. All three are jailed, but Wally and Vida are bailed out by Wally's friend and carnival partner, Rex. In a deep slump, Wilder goes back to the Kwik Foto (surrounded by the carnival) while Vida stays at the firehouse. Wally goads him into fighting for Vida, and their climactic fight sets half the carnival's rides ablaze.
The denouement shows Vida and Wilder (the latter now wearing Vida's house arrest ankle monitor) watching Wallace on a successful Letterman reappearance as Dr. Napalm.
