Written by Linda
December 27, 2008
A spoof on Mexican "lucha libre" wrestling seems like a brilliant idea, and it should make a brilliantly funny movie. The wrestlers are already super-hero cartoonish, bigger than life, and fascinatingly foreign, even to those who enjoy ridiculously theatrical American big-time wrestling. They wear masks and costumes and are superstars even outside the ring. Nacho Libre, combining the talents of the creators of Napoleon Dynamite (of which I'm a huge fan) and the comic stylings of Jack Black (of which I, well, sometimes enjoy), is not the hilarious movie that it should be.
Jack plays Nacho, an orphan who was raised in a monastery. He is the cook for the orphanage, dishing out revolting slop for the brothers and the boys. But he still harbors his childhood obsession with the luchadors (wrestlers), perfecting moves in secret, and fantasizing about stepping into the ring one day. One day while picking up stale tortilla chips for the orphans, he is pounced on by a scrawny street thug (Hector Jimenez) who takes off with his loot. Impressed with his fighting moves, Nacho befriends Esqueleto and they secretly enter a wrestling match as partners (with not much success).
Other than the smirky yet deadpan comedic style and unusual background, Nacho Libre follows the standard sports-drama plot. Loser athlete fights his way to the top and, after many mishaps, finds himself in the ultimate smackdown fight. A pretty woman's interest is at stake (in this case, the chaste Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera, a dead ringer for Penelope Cruz) as well as the honor of our hero.
It sounds like I'm taking the movie seriously. Believe me, I wanted to be laughing, and not be relegated to an occasional chuckle (and there actually are some). But the truth is that the best laughs are the ones that you've already seen in the pretty funny trailer. I suppose it depends on your tolerance level of Jack Black. Though I enjoyed his performances in High Fidelity and School of Rock (which were probably as close as he'll get to playing himself), his wobbly-faux-Mexican accent and mugging started to tire me after, say, half an hour.
But if you love Jack Black, I'm guessing you'll probably love Nacho Libre as well. After all, it does promise hours of Jack Black extras, plus the added bonus of a "Luchador mask creator" (YES!). And there is something glorious, I admit, about seeing a tubby man in "stretchy pants" unashamedly parading around with his skeletal sidekick... and whupping ass.
