Jack Black as Nacho
Ana de la Reguera as Sister Encarnación
Héctor Jiménez as Esqueleto
Moises Arias as Juan Pablo
Brett Chan as Dynasty
Lauro Chartrand as Sage
Mike Ching as El Chino
Eduardo Gómez as Chuy
Cesar Gonzalez as Ramses
Abelardo Hernandez as Muñeco
Carla Jimenez as Candidia
Carlos Maycotte as Segundo Nuñez
Richard Montoya as Guillermo
Enrique Muñoz as Señor Ramon
Emiliano Quiroga as Carlos Rosales
Darius Rose as Chancho
Peter Stormare as Emperor
Craig Williams as El Snowflake
Summary:
If you liked “Napoleon Dynamite”‘s off-the-wall humor, then you’ll enjoy “Nacho Libre.” Jack Black is hilarious as the wrestling hero in stretchy pants. It’s also fun for the whole family.
Story:
Ignacio was a young orphan who dreamed of becoming a wrestler named “Nacho”. Instead, he grew up to become a monk at an orphanage. Ignacio loves the children, but he’s unsatisfied with his life. He’s also unhappy that he can’t provide enough food for the children, the other monks, and a beautiful nun named Sister Encarnación. But when a local wrestling contest offers a cash prize, he sees it as an opportunity to provide for the children and fulfill his life’s dream. He teams with a local homeless guy to make an amateur wrestling tag team. But as he gains fame and success, will he forget what he began fighting for in the first place?
“Nacho Libre” is rated PG for some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue.
What Worked:
Simply put, if you liked “Napoleon Dynamite,” you’re going to like “Nacho Libre.” Both films have a subtle, wacky sense of humor that may or may not be to your taste. It’s the kind of film that you’re either going to really love or really hate. Personally, I loved “Napoleon Dynamite” and I loved “Nacho Libre.”
Jack Black has come up with a fantastic new eccentric character. Everything about him is funny. His accent is hilarious. His facial expressions are priceless. His eyebrows deserve a “Best Supporting Actor” nomination. Even the way he exits a scene is funny. Nacho’s dialogue is also filled with memorable quotes you’ll probably be hearing for years to come. He’s a lovable loser that you can’t help rooting for, stretchy pants and all. I don’t think anyone could have pulled this role off like Jack Black.
The rest of the cast is also fantastic. Héctor Jiménez is fun as Esqueleto. He’s the perfect contrast to Nacho. Nacho’s big, Esqueleto is skinny. Nacho is a man of God, Esqueleto is a self-proclaimed ‘man of science’. Seeing him get beat up in the film is definitely one of the high points. Other notable cast members include “Satan’s Cavemen”, a couple of dwarves that wrestle our heroes. Expect them to be nominated for “Best Fight” at next year’s MTV Movie Awards.
I have to also applaud Jared Hess for keeping this film PG. The film was really funny without resorting to profanity or sexual humor, so I was actually able to take my 4 year old son and 7 year old daughter to the movie. Both loved it and so did my wife and I. At first glance this doesn’t look like a family film, but most families are going to find it entirely appropriate for their kids.
What Didn’t Work:
Despite tons of laughs, “Nacho Libre” does have a few points that don’t seem to work very well. For example, one scene where he attempts to climb a cliff and get an eagle’s egg just doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the movie. There are also a few “serious” scenes that drag the pacing down. But overall, it’s a lot of fun.
I also found that the trailers and commercials, as funny as they were, ruined a lot of the jokes in the film. Once you’ve seen a gag 50 times, it tends to lose its humor. That was the case with many of the best scenes in the movie.
The Bottom Line:
You can probably tell just from looking at the ads whether or not you’re going to like “Nacho Libre.” Go with your instincts, because they’re probably right. But if you liked “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Nacho Libre” has a pretty good chance of entertaining you.
