Jack Black is at his comic best as Ignacio, a disrespected cook at a Mexican monastery that can barely afford to feed the orphans who live there. Inspired by a local wrestling hero, he decides to moonlight as the not-so-famous Luchador “Nacho Libre” to earn money for the monastery — not to mention the admiration of beautiful nun Sister Encarnacion. This Jack Black vehicle seems, on the surface, like a perfect fit for the actor: an opportunity to showcase Black’s unique style with the extreme facial gestures and exuberant physicality that have become his forte. Black plays Ignacio, a lowly cook in a monastery in central Mexico who feeds orphans by day, and wrestles in the town square at night. Ignacio teams up with Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), a street urchin who tormented him, to form a tag-team duo that goes up against the strangest wrestlers Mexico has to offer. Besides doing it for money to feed the orphans, Ignacio is also fighting to win the forbidden affections of Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) with predictable difficulty. While the movie has likeable characters and the plot is enjoyable enough, it can’t overcome its plodding pace and formulaic structure enough to keep the movie interesting throughout. Jack Black is a very strong comedic actor, and the wrestling scenes offer plenty of chances for slapstick, physical comedy, but watching him run around in red briefs and blue tights amounts to half the laughs in the movie, and there’s just not enough here for him to really work with. When he plays a more well-formed character, as in School of Rock and High Fidelity, his strengths really show. But in Nacho Libre he’s saddled with a caricature. Weighed down by too much low-brow humor and a script that goes nowhere, Nacho Libre just can’t make full enough use of Black’s talents to overcome the obstacles. –Daniel Vancini
Buy “Nacho Libre “ For Only $3.35
March 5, 2010
#1
I never thought it was possible to make a bad unfun film with Jack Black but Nacho Libre proves that Napoleon Dynamite was no fluke. Jared Hess is that bad.
I like how the atheist character hates orphans for no reason at all and then finds God for no apparent reason at the end. Wait. No I don’t. As a black man he offended me with LaFonda in ND and here with the evil atheist kid who coindicentally is also the ugliest character in the film. Just because you don’t follow a religion doesn’t mean your some hell spawn who wants to kill children. Way to encourage an awful stereotype that lingers in so many American minds and got that monkey in the White House re-elected.
I’d give it one star except for the fact that Jack Black looks sexy in those tights. He is one fine piece of man.
March 5, 2010
#2
This was by far the absolute worst movie I’ve ever seen in my 38 year life. Nuff Said!
March 5, 2010
#3
MY KID LIKED THIS.
I COULD BARELY SIT THROUGH IT, AND I LIKE JACK BLACK AND SILLY/GROSS MOVIES.
FOR SOME REASON, A GREAT DEAL OF THE MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN BATHROOMS AFTER JACK BLACK HAS USED THE TOILET, BUT BEFORE HE HAS WASHED HIS HANDS. TOUGH FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME TO WATCH.
ALSO, ITS A MOVIE THAT AT SOME LEVEL DEALS WITH RELIGION AND I GOT THE IDEA WATCHING IT THAT A FEW POTENTIALLY INSPIRING MOMENTS WERE JUST HACKED OUT OF THE MOVIE.
March 5, 2010
#4
Let’s see. A dead man comes back to life joke. A couple of fart jokes. A diarrhea joke. A “wipe my face” joke. Some badly-executed fake wrestling.
Nothing funny. I can’t believe I paid good money to see this, and then wasted two hours of my life hoping that something funny would happen.
Worst. Movie. Ever.
March 5, 2010
#5
The biggest joke in Nacho Libre is the one about the movie studio that packaged a picture based on a script so bad, it’s being compared to Ishtar.
See Jack Black attempt the worst Hispanic accent ever in a movie.
See characters in supposed comedic situations that don’t make you laugh.
See Yourself fast forwarding through most of this film because it’s so flat.
Nacho Libre is on par with any of the worst Rob Schneider movies.