A few laughs don't make a comedy

Rating: 2/10 (13 June 2006)

Time is so precious. Undeniably precious. Too bad I will never have that one hour and forty minutes that it took to sit through this dreck, back. Given the fact that Nacho Libre was directed by Jared Hess, who directed one of my favorite films of 2004, Napoleon Dynamite, I was looking forward to some great comedy. But instead, I got a pile of poo-poo. Jack Black plays Nacho, an orphan raised as a man who becomes the cook of a Mexican monastery in Oaxaca, Mexico. The monastery is on the brink of financial ruin, but Nacho finds it in his heart to become the greatest 'Luchardore' there ever was, also known as a Mexican wrestler, to earn money for the monastery and to feed the children. Enter the lovely and beautiful Sister Encarnacion (Ana de le Reguera), who he tries to impress and takes a special liking to her.
There's no doubt about it... Jack Black is very funny. His Mexican accent is pretty much played for laughs. And we do laugh when he speaks. Hector Jimenez plays, Esqueleto, Nacho's skinny little sidekick. His facial expressions are perfect for comedy. But there's no story here. No explanation about the sport. Nacho Libre is a complete mess and seemed to be edited five minutes before the screening I attended. I do give kudos to Black for being a sport about wearing tights and having his enormous belly hang out for most of the movie. He just seems so out of place here. The four kids who were sitting right behind me were having a field day with the slapstick humor and fart scenes. And to a point, so was I. But I'm still longing for that precious hour and forty minutes that are gone forever.