Nacho Libre DVD > Reviews > He's Nacho Ordinary Hero

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Very ordinary
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Jack Black is great as always; it's just a relaxed, funny comedy
Disadvantages:	Too many fart jokes, not much plot

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Nacho Libre is the second film from director Jared Hess; his first, Napoleon Dynamite, was a strange indie comedy which became a huge cult classic. This film stars Jack Black (previously seen in School of Rock, King Kong, and the rock band Tenacious D) as the Nacho in question, and a supporting cast of relative unknowns.

Jack Black plays Ignacio, a monk in a Mexican monastery/orphanage. He enjoys looking after the young children, but his cooking duties are leaving him bored and searching for more excitement in his life. Ignacio has a secret passion for wrestling, and one day, he teams up with a poor thief named Esqueleto to create a tag team wrestling combination. By doing this, he becomes his alter ego, Nacho (which I think is short for the name Ignacio, in case you were wondering); complete with stretch trousers, red pants, a cape and mask.

Needless to say, the pair are, at first, pretty bad, even after some extreme training in the wilderness. They're getting paid fairly handsomely just for losing, but they want to win, and even turn professional - so they sneak into a party held by the number one luchador (wrestler), Ramses, and try to talk to his agent to organise a lucrative fight.

When the monastery finds out about Ignacio's secret double life, they are far from pleased, especially the beautiful new nun called Encarnacion (played by Ana de la Reguera). She sees the sport as unholy and thinks that Ignacio is only doing it to serve his own greed. However, Ignacio has a dream to beat the champion with the help of God, and spend all the winnings on the young children, and the lady, that he loves.

Predictable and unrealistic as it sounds (and is), Nacho Libre is definitely a winner. The film starts off as a gentle family comedy with some sympathetic characters and a few sporadic laughs, quirky humour and a slow, chilled-out pace. I was content with that - it was a pleasant enough way to spend a Friday afternoon, and I had no expectations, so I wasn't disappointed.

However, after a slightly slow first twenty minutes, Nacho Libre transforms just like the central character; into a rip-roaring hilarious comedy, albeit still quite a laid-back, indie one. Jack Black is brilliant; full of weird facial expressions and dodgy outfits. He also shows off his err… unique singing abilities, not once but twice in this film, both times to hilarious effect. Many will be enticed by the sight of Jack Black in a leotard, and whilst that is funny, there's a lot more to this film than that one visual gag. Black really is the star of the show and without him, Nacho Libre wouldn't be half as good.

Some reviews have said that it's not particularly funny, and true, there are a few too many fart jokes which will never be funny, and the jokes are sometimes fairly far between. But on the whole, there isn't a lot of toilet or gross-out humour, which is always a good thing, and I found myself laughing a lot, despite it clearly being a family-friendly comedy.

Others have complained that it's racist and offensive, but to be honest they really need to lighten up. So what if Jack Black portrays a Mexican character, complete with Mexican accent? As if a character hasn't played a different nationality before. And you have to bear in mind all the time that this is a light-hearted, silly film.

I thought Jack Black's sidekick, played by Hector Jimenez, was also extremely funny, and had some great moments of his own. For example, he knows how to use corn as a dangerous weapon, and he's very funny in the wrestling scenes, as is Jack Black - they make a great on screen partnership, probably because of their enormous physical difference.

The direction was great since it didn't rush anything or try to cram in as many jokes as possible - there was plenty of time to establish the loving relationship between Ignacio and his kids. This was surprisingly sweet, but never sentimental; even at the predictable ending with its moral in the tale. It was a nice-looking film, with lots of lingering shots of the Mexican countryside, and it had some good music on its soundtrack, which fitted both the light-hearted and Mexican aspects of the film.

Nacho Libre isn't particularly memorable or innovative, nor will it go down in the history of great comedies, but it is an enjoyable, light-hearted romp. If you can forgive the thin story and ignore the fart jokes, there's a lot to like, and Jack Black is as crazily watchable as ever.
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The cheapest I could find Nacho Libre online was £11.95 from www.blahdvd.com. I'm just reviewing the film, not the DVD.

Directed By: Jared Hess

Starring:

Jack Black … Ignacio/Nacho
Ana de la Reguera … Sister Encarnacion
Hector Jimenez … Esqueleto

Running Time: 92 minutes

Classification: 12A (some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue)

My Rating: 4 stars
 

Pictures for the review

Display pictures

Ignacio with one of the orphans