Movie Review:

Nacho Libre

by Lynn B

If you miss the wild and crazy Jack Black, he’s back… in tights!

Jack Black plays Nacho who was raised in a Mexican religious orphanage and, as an adult, became a friar and the resident cook. Of course, he is given no money to buy food so his cuisine is less than yummy. Since he was a kid, Nacho has dreamed of being a Luchador.. a Latino wrestler complete with superhero mask, cool costume and adoring fans.

When hot new nun Encarnacion (Latina soap opera star Ana de La Reguera) arrives at the orphanage, she sets poor Nacho’s heart a-pounding. He’d like her to be proud of him. He’d also like to earn enough money to buy decent groceries for the kids. Going into town on his funny three wheeler bike/motorscooter, Nacho befriends a skinny thief named Esqueleto (the Skeleton, played by Hector Jimenez) and the two start secretly wrestling as a tag team. They gradually gain fame and crowd approval and their winnings grow until they are ready to fight Ramses, the hottest, meanest Luchador in the area. Will they win for the kids or be mashed to a pulp?

Okay, this is a silly movie. So was Napoleon Dynamite, which comes to us from the same creators. “Nacho” also boasts the writer of The School of Rock and is co-produced by kid-friendly Nickelodeon Movies. “Nacho” has the same warm heart as “Rock” when it comes to helping kids but it’s much farther out there than “Rock” ever was. You have to really like to watch Jack Black’s antics to love this film. I really get a kick out of him but over an hour of shirtless and far from buff Jack parading around in spandex tights does click in my “ewwww” factor a bit.

None-the-less, I found this film to be somewhat of a guilty pleasure. There is a lot of “violence” but it’s of the wrestling type.. no blood spilled in the PG film and you get enough crude humor to suit your date or little brother. Jack’s love song to Encarnacion is a Latino version of his Tenacious D ditties and exudes its own very outrageous charm. Black’s Nacho is rather dim-witted but a big-hearted man/child who only wants the best for the orphans in his care. Let’s face it, you either crack up at Black’s eyebrow wiggling or you don’t. It’s your call.

 

This movie is rated PG

Official Movie Web Site - Nacho Libre

Pictures courtesy of and copyright Paramount Pictures, 2006