Jack Black as a Mexican priest/wrestler - what more need be said?

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2006)

It would seem these days that Jack Black can do no wrong. His winning combo started with his star making turn in 2003's The School of Rock, and his popularity was barely swayed with relative misfires in Envy and Shark Tale. 2005 saw Black starring in Peter Jackson's adventure epic remake of King Kong, and proving him able to harness his trademark manic energy and channel it into a more dramatic performance than his usual goofball comedy roles. But here, Black returns to what he does best - ridiculous, forgettable and extremely funny comedy.
Ignacio (Black), a cook and friar at a local orphanage has never felt like he fully fit in. In an attempt to find some sense of self, as well as to win money to provide better food for the children... and perhaps also finally win some personal glory and potentially impress fellow orphanage worker, the beautiful Sister Encarnación, Ignacio creates a larger than life wrestling persona, the dynamic Nacho, and enters the ring as a Luchador.
It's safe to say that the movie revolves around Black and his genius comedic talents, but it is also quite the quality mix of modern comedic talents - Jared Hess, director of last year's cult hit Napoleon Dynamite, brings a similar sense of quirky, offbeat and understated humour to play here, as does scriptwriter Mike White, who also penned School of Rock and Orange County, both starring Jack Black.
The odd mix between the three different styles of humour seems to work surprisingly well, and Nacho comes to play as an oddball, quirky yet very funny comedy. It's just a bit disappointing Hess and White found it necessary to include some very childish fart jokes, which seem very out of place. Nacho also comes across as surprisingly unmemorable, with few lines as endlessly quotable as Napoleon Dynamite, but what Napoleon lacked was the power of Jack Black, who seems able to evoke roars of laughter from his audience just from a facial expression or jerk of his head.
Black also receives able support from the quirky and very funny "sidekick" role of his fellow wrestler, "Elsqueleto", an odd looking fellow with a grotesque smile and memorable scream, and Nacho's "love" interest, Sister Encarnación, who has a very limited role in the story but makes good use of her screen time and shallow character. Also look for a cameo from Swedish character actor Peter Stormare as a sage gypsy who helps Nacho on his quest to become the world's greatest fighter.
All in all, Nacho Libre seems the perfect prescription for a night of summer movie entertainment. It may not be terribly memorable and don't search for any profound deeper meanings, but Nacho is a return to form for Jack Black in the field of offbeat comedy, which makes it a must see for fans of his in itself. Be warned: expect to use the term "stretchy pants" for quite some time afterwards.
-7/10