Silly, campy, and a lot of fun; Jack Black leads the way as Nacho Libre is gleeful family fun

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2006)

Napoleon Dynamite stands as one of the most overrated disasters ever put to the big screen. That being said, the Hess couple gets it right the second time around with Nacho Libre. With a nice message, plenty of fun gags, a plot that actually contains some content, and laughs throughout, this Nick flick stands as one of the better efforts to contain the Nickelodeon name (even though in the trailers its not really that present). Jack Black more than steals the show as the main character, and a charming supporting cast helps makes this film an enjoyable one for kids and adults.
What makes Napoleon Dynamite such a massive cult hit is the type of humor Jared Hess and the gang use in their movies. Their brand of humor, which is very dry, makes it a whether-you-love-it-or-hate-it kind of humor, one that can be compared to that of Woody Allen. While in Dynamite all there was in the 90 minutes was dry humor, Nacho Libre mixes dry humor with some slapstick comedy, extremely silly dialogue, and some hilarious Spanish jokes. We get a bit more variety here.
In Nacho Libre, we follow a man who cooks for kids in a church, but wants to live the glamorous life of a wrestler as well. At first he was fighting to earn some money for the orphans he takes care of, but little by little the life of fame consumes him, casting a smokescreen over what is really important in his life; the kids, the beautiful nun (Played by the beautiful Ana De La Reguera), and the church he lives in. Can he live a double life without sinning and angering God or will he be forced to choose one life over the other? Jack Black steals and runs this show as his performance as the main character is easily the best in the movie. Carrying a silly grin on his face and willing to bend over backwards to get a laugh (like a fat Jim Carrey), the biggest laughs come from him. Almost as funny as Black is the hilarious Héctor Jiménez, who wears a crooked smile but also carries a dosage of physical humor that helps this movie; he would have been perfect for the role of Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite. Enrique Muñoz as Senor Ramon was awesome, its unfortunate he didn't get much screen time.
With plenty of goofy action, this is just as much a kid's flick as an adult flick; there isn't much balance in terms of humor. Yet, this will totally appeal to the fans of deadpan, dry, and Simpsons-like humor. This should also appeal to the Napoleon Dynamite fans as well. Unfortunately though, the direction from Jared Hess still needs work. Some shots are totally random and way out-there, and utterly pointless. Sometimes, Hess makes some shots of people looking at the camera take way too long. There aren't long shots of the landscape, just incredibly long Andy Warhol-like shots of the actors and actresses themselves, and makes the movie 10 minutes longer than it should be. Last but not least, he should try to stay away from the stereotypical material of his work; that kind of humor wears out really thin, unless you are Mel Brooks.
Bottom Line: Hess' second effort is much better than his first in every aspect whatsoever, but while his writing and comical substance excels, his directing still needs a bit of work. It's a silly premise done well thanks to the cast, and especially thanks to Jack Black. Only Black can make a scene about people eating toast and a scene about a man serving salad hysterical. Plenty of laughs, but don't expect Oscar-worthy stuff. Its great for the whole family, its Nacho Libre!