Offbeat and entertaining Parody

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2006)

"NACHO LIBRE" is an entertaining parody of a beloved Mexican cult sport: wrestling. Jack Black plays Ignacio, an orphan from a Scandinavian/Mexican couple who grows to be a fraile in a remote town in Oaxaca, one of Mexico's poorest states. Ignacio dreams of being a pro wrestler and longs for the love of sister Encarnacion (downplayed by Mexican poster-girl beauty Ana de la Reguera). The movie tells how Igancio becomes the wrestler he so much dreams of becoming and in the way he befriends "Esqueleto", a hobo from Oaxaca with peculiar fighting skills. NACHO LIBRE is an offbeat parody of one of Mexico's most beloved cult sports but within the parody, the film makers make an accurate portrayal of what life in rural Mexico is like. Some of the actors and plenty of extras are truly Mexican, down to the groupies at the wrestling matches, so realism is always present. Some of the humor is decidedly intended for Mexican audiences and in that respect NACHO LIBRE will surely win many Mexican fans. On the other hand, we are never given much background on the characters: we never really know why Ignacio speaks English SO well, as well as some of the townsfolk. You have to remember this is rural Mexico, not Cancun, not Acapulco, where it's easier to find English speaking natives. Even "Equeleto" for being a plain bum, his English is spectacularly articulate, not to mention the orphan kids at the convent and the priests themselves! Flaws aside, I must confess I did laugh out loud and my wife enjoyed it even more than I did, so I guess NACHO LIBRE and Jack Black achieved their purpose of putting a Mexican parody on film. Let's just hope that other people, unaware of Mexican culture, have as much fun!