Nacho Libre (2006)

Directed by: Jared Hess | 100 minutes | comedy | Actors: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez, Darius Rose, Moises Arias, Eduardo Gómez, Carlos Maycotte, Richard Montoya, Cesar Gonzalez, Rafael Montalvo, Julio Sandoval, Enrique Sandoval, Enrique Muñoz, Carla Jimenez, Agusytín Rey Gentile

Jack Black, known from ‘Shallow Hall’ and ‘School of Rock’, plays in this film a Mexican wrestler, a so-called luchador. A fat white guy playing a Mexican and then a wrestler too, it’s pretty special. Fortunately, you can leave these kinds of separate roles to Jack Black. There are only a few comedians in Hollywood who have such a smile on their ass and therefore know how to make something out of every role, think of Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey. Jack Black also belongs in this list and he is also the only reason that ‘Nacho Libre’ is worth a look, because otherwise it isn’t that much.

Jack Black is Ignacio, a brother who works in a convent for orphans. His duties mainly consist of preparing the food and doing the shopping. Actually, he doesn’t want to be a brother at all, he prefers to be a famous luchador. At some point he decides to make the move and enters competitions under the name Nacho with a friend named Esqueleto, the skeleton. Of course the priests of the monastery are not allowed to know anything because he would be fired immediately. Wrestling and the gospel don’t go together so easily, so Ignacio has to lead a double life. Nacho and Esqueleto are two wrestlers for nothing, but they make money because the audience loves them. However, Nacho wants more, he wants to become a professional in order to earn even more money, not for himself, but for the poor orphans in the monastery. A noble pursuit, which will of course be rewarded by the Lord.

Nacho is beautifully played by Jack Black. Of course he doesn’t look like a Mexican in the slightest, but that shouldn’t spoil the fun. He has a huge curly hair, a mustache and he talks with such an exaggerated Colombian drug lord accent that he is in stark contrast to the real Mexicans. It’s fun because his character is so over the top. The script is very weak and seems to have been written mainly to make Jack Black come out as funny as possible, which turned out very well. As a viewer you constantly have the feeling that the film has yet to really get going, but that never happens and before you know it the film is already over. In the end, of course, everything turned out on its feet and Ignacio/Nacho has become a wiser and better person and he has also earned the respect of the beautiful nun Encarnación. Reasonable comedy, as is so often the case, the story is subordinate to the jokes and this is no different.

What also makes ‘Nacho Libre’ amusing are the well choreographed fight scenes, these are quite spectacular and come across quite original. The makers have thoroughly immersed themselves in the world of Mexican luchadores in advance. A number of elements in the film are inspired by reality, such as trying to tear off the opponent’s mask, which is the ultimate humiliation. Jack Black in a tight lycra suit swinging and fighting through a boxing ring, that sounds like something to you, then go and watch ‘Nacho Libre’. Have you always had an aversion to Jack Black? Then skip this movie.