Mediocre but pleasant

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2006)

This film should have been so much better. It was a relatively pleasant ninety minutes, and I guess there could really be a Mexican monastery with half-Scandinavian friars who are allowed to date nuns at night. But other than the costumes, this religious institution is unlike any I've ever seen.
Jack Black does a terrific job with the little that has been given him, and he is absolutely shameless about his physical appearance. I thought it was interesting that his character was more concerned about the appearance of his wrestling costume than his body.
There are so many promising ideas that come to nothing, such as the two midget wrestlers, who could have been much more funny. And the eagle egg scene is just a waste of time. The "training" sequence has a few pleasant ideas, but I was wondering about some of the elements of the training: how hornets or cow manure figured in a wrestler's training.
I had a chuckle or two, but not nearly what I'd expected from a Jack Black film. There was nothing so bad that I wanted to leave the theatre early, but that's hardly a recommendation.