Nacho Libre Review
Posted by Jacob Ziegler on 06.16.2006
It's Jack Black versus Silver King!
NACHO LIBRE
June 16, 2006
Nacho: Jack Black
Esqueleto: Héctor Jiménez
Sister Encarnación: Ana de la Reguera
Guillermo: Richard Montoya
Paramount presents a film directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay by Hess and Mike White. The running time is 91 minutes. It is rated PG for some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue.
BY JACOB ZIEGLER, 411Movies
I'll never forget the first time I saw Jack Black in a movie. When "High Fidelity" first came out in 2000 I hadn't heard of him at all. He makes a truly memorable entrance there, to Katrina & The Waves' "Walking on Sunshine," and it has set the stage for his career up to this point. Few actors can make one entrance and have it set the stage for a burgeoning career, but Black has the kind of manic comic energy that just can't be denied.
Black forms part of a three-headed monster behind "Nacho Libre," along with director and co-writer Jared Hess ("Napoleon Dynamite") and co-writer and co-producer Mike White ("Orange County" and "School of Rock"). This is a comedy much in the vain of what all three have done previously, but it worked before and it worked this time too.
"Libre" may appeal especially to wrestling fans, but it's a pretty broadly aimed comedy filled with the usual blend of gross-out jokes and sight gags. Black plays Ignacio, a friar at an orphanage in Mexico where he is in charge of cooking all the meals. Everyone complains, but Ignacio blames the lack of funds given to him by the orphanage higher-ups. He also has a secret love of professional wrestling (Lucha Libre), but he can't reveal that secret, for the world of Lucha Libre is viewed as Godless by the clergy.
While on his nightly run to get day-old food to serve, he has an altercation with Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez), and he realizes that the two could be a successful tag team. The wrestling scenes are when the film is most entertaining; Black and Jiménez make a great comic duo and these scenes give them both a chance to flex their physical comedy muscles. Sure, Black's more be more toned than Jiménez's, but they certainly make a good team. Unfortunately, they can't win a match, but with the money they earn in losing (they seem unaware of the very nature of the wrestling business), Ignacio is able to make some better food for the kids.
Hardcore wrestling fans will get a kick out of the fact that the main villain of the film, a muscular masked man named Ramses, is played by Cesar Gonzalez, who was known in the former WCW (World Championship Wrestling) as Silver King. The film of course leads up to a big matchup between Nacho and Ramses, and the winner is of course not a surprise in any way, but when Nacho uses a legitimate wrestling hold to beat him, the wrestling fan in me cheered.
In fact, it was the wrestling fan in me that cheered through most of the film. It takes wrestling as seriously as a light-hearted comedy could, and I truly appreciated that. The wrestling scenes aren't exactly "realistic" (even in the context of pro wrestling), but they don't insult wrestling fans and when (hopefully) a lot of people like this movie, I'll feel slightly vindicated. I'm sure wrestling fans can sympathize with Ignacio when the beautiful Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera (who he is romantically interested in but can't pursue due to the vows both of them took)) tells him that wrestling is not legitimate in so many words. I've been confronted with wrestling haters more times than I care to count, though usually not with a beautiful woman like Sister Encarnación.
In the end, "Nacho Libre" is a very slight but enjoyable film. It's another memorable character in the very young but fruitful career of Jack Black, who is clearly one of the best comedic actors of our time.
The 411: Jack Black, Mike White, and Jared Hess have created a nice tame little comedy that should appeal to movie-goers of all ages. There’s a lot of simple comedy here, but it works well due to the charm and charisma of its leading man. Wrestling fans in particular should have a good time with this one.
