A Review by Phil Calabro
2006, Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Films, Dir. Jared Hess – Starring Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Hector Jimenez, Darius Rose, Moises Arias, Eduardo Gomez, Carlos Maycotte, Richard Montoya, Cesar Gonzales, Rafael Montalvo, Julia Sandoval, Peter Stormare
They call America the melting pot, and how true it was when I went to the screening of 'Nacho Libre'. Not in the sense of a racial melting pot, but one of all generations gathered into one room to view Jared Hess' new absurdist creation. 12 year old boys, grandparents, young lovestruck couples, and toddlers were packed into one theater, alongside the large spaces of press seating. 'Napoleon Dynamite' really took storm a little while after its release, when director Hess' minimalistic quirkiness became a piece of year's culture. 'Gosh!' says one person, 'Gross!' says another, and soon people will be chanting the catchphrase 'take it easyyy' like it was out of a fashion magazine. 'Nacho Libre' is a collaborative work of lots of funny people – the always eccentric Jack Black, the constantly cynical Mike White, and the Mormon minimalist Jared Hess. In that regard, the final product is eccentric, cynical, and very fantasmo. Mind you, 'Nacho's humor is directed towards the younger ages, but all can appreciate this funny little story. It can be offensive, sometimes unnecessarily gross, but when you watch Jack Black tear off a friar's tunic to reveal a flamboyant lucha libre costume, attached to an obvious Mexican dialect, you'll realize why Jack Black is in the comedy business to begin with.
Ignacio (Black), serves as a cook and friar in a monastery/orphanage hybrid located in Oaxaca, Mexico. An orphan himself, he was raised there after his Scandinavian and Mexican parents died. But inside his portly figure, lies a heart yearning for something more. The children at the orphanage, including the plump Concho (Rose), are Ignacio's pride and joy, but he feels they are becoming underprivileged due to the church's lack of funds. Ignacio, who is also known as Nacho, then finds hope in the competitions of the lucha libre - "free-style fighting", a popular wrestling sport in Mexico. With the potential of winning 200 pesos in return, Nacho teams up with local vagrant Esqueleto (Jimenez) to form the perfect tag team. However, they lose. And keep losing. And lose some more. But despite their constant mockery, the duo begins to profit from the sports center in return for fighting more contestants. But Nacho has a guilty conscience, especially from the lovely Sister Encarnation (de la Reguera), who tells the young friar of the sins he is committing. When given the chance to fight the greatest luchadore in all of Mexico, the great Ramses (Gonzales), Nacho must choose between his own benefit or the orphans.
Much like wine and Tom Green (although I never thought I could mention the two in the same sentence), Jack Black's humor is an acquired taste. Very much a character actor who relies on his personal eccentricities, Black runs amok with a role with Nacho Libre. Seeing as how him and writer Mike White have been given much creative freedom with the piece, a lot of his in-jokish comedy is very prominent. Songs by Black reckon to his 'Tenacious D' roots, whereas fart jokes also arise the child's spirit of Black's 37-year-old body. To cut to the chase, I liked Jack as Nacho - he never treats the character with artistic depth or anything, but caricatures the role to the degree that makes him everybody's favorite loser. God only knows what 'Nacho Libre' would have been like had Nic Cage taken the title role. Ana de la Reguera is so stunningly beautiful, it's almost laughable she's a nun. Beyond the gorgeous face, she pulls off the role mildly with a foreign meekness that comes alongside her vocation. Hector Jimenez, after much thought, did not impress me much as Nacho's goofy sidekick Esqueleto. Unlike 'Napoleon's friend Pedro, there is never any solid, justified reason for the two to connect so well. Also, the great Peter Stormare takes a vacation from playing Satan and gives a laughable cameo as a silly conman.
Location, location, location. Jared Hess has a knack for finding some of the world's most lost and decaying areas to film, as shown for a second time in 'Nacho Libre'. Preston, Idaho was enough to make one grimace, or reconsider their fashion sense. But the hills and villages of Oaxaca, Mexico are prime estate for the various quirks of the film. There's a similar dryness to its design, much like the offbeat wallpapers and clothes of 'Napoleon Dynamite', and it's a perfect contrast to the silliness that it encases. The movie itself feels a bit too long, especially towards the end when the finale becomes a tad anticlimactic. Regardless, it entertains to the finish properly. Also, the jokes (due to the addition of 'School of Rock's Mike White to the list of writers) have become increasingly sophomoric in comparison to 'Napoleon'. Expect more farts, wild wrestling moves, language, and innuendo - partially gone is the character-driven humor that requires no foulness. That isn't to say 'Nacho' is a deplorable film, but older kids will appreciate its humor than others. I never thought I'd see the day when a bad guy gets taken down by a corncob-on-a-stick to the eye. Tony Jaa couldn't match that.
'Deep' or 'meaningful' or even 'moral' are not words I'd use to describe 'Nacho Libre', but rather it's just entertaining fare. Nothing longstanding to an audience, but I still do believe its quirkiness will be repeated by today's youth regardless of its box office intake. If you appreciate Jack Black or goofy Napoleon, this is money well spent this summer.
