Not an excellent order of Nacho

Rating: 7/10 (21 June 2006)

Whether you like Nacho Libre or not really comes down to this: If you found Napoleon Dynamite amusing, then you will most likely generally enjoy Libre. If, however, Dynamite's charms leave you dewildered, then Nacho Libre is probably not a good selection for a night at the movies.
Nacho Libre has a rather uncomplicated plot: Brother Ignacio (Jack Black) is a friar at a Mexican orphanage who dreams of two things: providing better food for his young charges and becoming a famous wrestler (known in Mexico as a luchador). He also finds himself attracted to a new nun at the orphanage, Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera). Wrestling is looked down upon by his fellow friars as a sin, so Ignacio has held off on pursuing his dream. But, finally, with the assistance of a street waif named Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), Ignacio makes the move to become a luchador by hiding behind a mask and taking the name Nacho. Nacho and Esqueleto are not a successful pair, they lose consistently, but become beloved by the crowd and continue wrestling, while Ignacio tries in vain to win the heart of Encarnacion.
Nacho Libre has a great deal in common with Napoleon Dynamite, the previous film directed by Jared Hess. Between camera angles, framing choices (Hess almost always shoots characters in the dead center of the screen, directly facing the camera) and a similar style of performance for many of the supporting characters, it wouldn't be incorrect to consider Nacho Libre Napoleon Dynamite's distant Mexican cousin. However, the presence of both Jack Black and co-screenwriter Mike White (who wrote School of Rock among other films) brings a different angle to some of the material, and at times, it's easy to see Black and White's influence on the film. Black performs Ignacio as a compromise of his usually boisterous self and one of Hess' open-mouthed, blank stare caricatures. Some of the occasional bits also have that crazy set piece mentality that has informed Black's previous work.
The film has a decent amount of funny moments, from Ignacio and Esqueleto fighting two short wrestlers that look like trolls from hell to Ignacio's occasional left-field statements ("It sucks to be me right now!" he says at one point). However, Nacho Libre never really takes off. It is not exactly dry humor, but it is not exactly inspired either. And as ridiculous as some of the wrestling matches are, they aren't really over the top hilarious either. The film also has almost no real suspense at all: it is very much the typical sports underdog story, with the little guy trying his best to pursue his dream and never give up. The films progression is never in much doubt. The romance, if it can be called that, between Ignacio and Encarnacion is half executed and fairly weak, without a clear resolution at the end.
So, is Nacho Libre worth seeing? It is funny at times, but not so much that it can obtain a whole-hearted recommendation. And it also suggests that when Jared Hess gets ready to make another movie, he needs to move outside the Napoleon Dynamite box and look for something new, perhaps not even a comedy. Considering how much of Nacho Libre looks like Napoleon Dynamite in Mexico, the audience may not come back for round three.