Review: Nacho Libre (2006)

Nacho Libre
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com

rating: 3 out of 4

Director: Jared Hess
Cast: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Hector Jimenez
Screenplay: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, Mike White
MPAA Classification: PG (some rough action, and crude humor including
dialogue)

In a time when each week sees the release of another superhero
flaunting through the theatres, Nacho Libre's spandex fat rolls and
bubbly curls of hair poking through a plastic mask are refreshing bits
of irony. It's from Jared and Jerusha Hess, now teamed with Jack
Black and Mike White, the group that birthed the iconic modern
anti-hero, Napoleon Dynamite. Both films strut their awkward stuff down
similar formulas, and so those who hated Napoleon's humor should,
yes, probably avoid Nacho like the plague. But if you're game, the
Hess' new creation is awkward, strange, and a little bit
irresistible.

I'll admit to disliking Napoleon Dynamite. Curse me, swear me,
condemn me to a string of bad movies, whatever. I didn't like it. We
could never care for Napoleon because, frankly, Napoleon was an
ungrateful prick. I was depressed by the film and its characters and
its timeless setting. The humor was right, but the film was sad and too
bizarre to grab hold of. Nacho Libre avoids such missteps with a dose
of wholesome well-meaning. Nacho (Jack Black) is at least a good guy; a
little strange, but a good guy. His dream is to become a professional
wrestler worthy of fighting the likes of Ramses (Cesar Gonzalez),
Oaxaca's top Luchador. But Nacho is confined to the rules of his
monastery, where he's been outcast to the duties of cook, slopping
together sludge at 5 am each morning.

The Bible can't stop Nacho from entering an amateur wrestling
competition, however, and behind his plastic mask and beside his
homeless sidekick, Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), the two lose their way
to a cut of the profits and an invite to next week's match. Now Nacho
has the means to become a professional wrestler, making money enough to
buy fresh groceries as well, looking to impress Sister Encarnacion (Ana
de la Reguera) with his fine cuisine. But Nacho must keep his life as a
Luchador secret, sneaking from the monastery to wrestle and lose for
cash.

Jared Hess' humor is, if nothing else, original. But if I were forced
to put a label to it, perhaps I'd say it was something Wes Anderson
(The Royal Tenenbaums, A Life Aquatic) would concoct, with the
profoundly simple wit and imagination of a nine year-old. For instance,
every time Nacho blends into the shadows of stealth and tiptoes up to
somebody, he loses control of his bowels and rips a hefty fart. Paired
with the likes of Napoleon's favorite animal, the Liger, I think nine
year-old is fitting. But where this didn't mesh with Napoleon's
world, the style and humor go hand in hand with the silly world of
Nacho Libre. Nacho has a purpose and a dream. All Napoleon ever wanted
were some "sweet skills." Nacho wants fame, he wants strength, he
wants tasty groceries for his orphans, and he wants Sister Encarnacion,
despite their vows of celibacy (this is actually addressed in a
ridiculously entertaining musical number). And although he never
capitulates to any semblance of normality, his quirks (read: social
disabilities) stand among a tender heart. Hess has written Nacho and
his cohorts to this time be loveable and, in doing so, manages not to
drive us away.

Nacho Libre will probably fare the same as its Napoleon brethren. It
will appear on critics' Top Ten lists and some Bottom Ten lists. But
Hess has created more of an actual movie this time; one with a
beginning, a middle, and end. Jack Black puts as much conviction into
his Nacho as Jon Heder did to his own creation--and conviction is
really what makes us laugh at these films--but Black's loopy
eyebrows, sincerely awful accent, and, er, lofty physique will make him
more memorable than any sweet jump off a sweet bike ramp. Most
importantly, though, Jared Hess has proven that he has the bones to
make a career as a director. His style will always polarize the
audience, but if you can stomach the strangeness, his films can
delight.

-www.samseescinema.com