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Dusty: I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night... for some Nacho Libre.
Rating: PG
Director: Jared Hess
Writer: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, and Mike White
Stars: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez
Release Date: June 16, 2006
Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
THE PLOT:
via wiki:
Ignacio's parents, a Scandinavian Lutheran missionary and a Mexican deacon, both died while he was still a baby. Now a cook for the Oaxaca monastery orphanage where he was raised, Ignacio dreams of becoming a luchador, but wrestling is strictly forbidden by the monastery as it is considered a sin of vanity. Though Ignacio cares deeply for the orphans, he is unable to provide decent meals for them due to a lack of funds. He is treated with contempt and indifference by the other monks. He also struggles with his feelings for Sister Encarnación, a nun who has just arrived to teach at the orphanage. One night, while collecting a bag of tortilla chips for the orphans, Ignacio gets mugged by a street thief named Steven. Having had enough, Ignacio decides to disregard the monastery's rules and become a luchador to make money. He convinces Steven to join him by promising to share the prize money if they win, and the two join a local competition as tag partners.
Ignacio fights with the moniker "Nacho" to keep his identity secret, while Steven adopts the name "Esqueleto" (skeleton). They get defeated in their first match but still get paid nicely, as wrestlers are entitled to a portion of the total revenue. They prove to be popular with the crowd so are invited back. They continue to wrestle every week, with Ignacio using the money to acquire better food for the orphans but becoming frustrated that they can never win. Ignacio tries everything he can think of, including a folk remedy to acquire the powers of an eagle, but success still eludes the two. He then seeks advice from champion luchador Ramses, who arrogantly rebuffs his attempts at conversation.
Undeterred, the duo infiltrates a party Ramses's manager holds for the best wrestlers in Mexico. Steven climbs over a wall to get inside, where he discovers that in order to be considered a professional, one must be the last luchador standing in the ring at an upcoming free-for-all match. Ignacio gets in by disguising himself as a member of the band playing live at the party, but does not know their material and improvises; Ramses finds Ignacio's performance annoying and ousts him. Attending the party causes Ignacio to fall behind on his responsibilities at the orphanage, for which he angrily blames Steven, who retaliates by declaring he hates all orphans; they acrimoniously end their partnership.
Ignacio's secret is revealed to the entire monastery when his robe catches fire during mass, exposing his wrestling costume and forcing him to confess to everyone. He declares that he intends to fight at a battle royale for the right to take on Ramses for a cash prize, which he will use to buy a bus for the orphanage. During the match, wrestler Silencio ultimately emerges the victor after defeating Ignacio, who comes in second place. Ignacio is banished from the monastery, so he goes to live in the wilderness, which is actually very close to the nearby village.
The next morning, Steven comes to tell him that Silencio has been injured and cannot fight, and that as the second-place finisher, Ignacio now has the right to fight Ramses; Ignacio and Steven agree to team up again. That night, Ignacio sends a message to Encarnación, explaining his plan and confessing his love to her.
Ignacio overcomes difficulty and manages to do well in the match, winning the crowd's support, but Ramses cheats and nearly wins until Ignacio sees Encarnación enter the arena with the orphans. Inspired by their support, Ignacio rallies himself and defeats Ramses with a diving technique and winning the match.
Ignacio becomes a professional wrestler and eventually manages to buy a bus for the orphans with his prize money; he then takes the orphans, Steven, and Sister Encarnación on a field trip to Monte Albán built by the Zapotec civilization. Ignacio, by now, has earned Encarnación's favor, as demonstrated by her signs of encouragement and his somewhat awkward acknowledgment thereof.
MY REVIEW:
Nacho Libre is a movie that should work, but doesn't. Directed and written by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), the look and feel of the movie is familiar. Hess wrote a lot of funny lines, utilizes awkward silence to build comedic tension, leans hard on absurdity to break that tension. I love professional wrestling, so this should have been right up my alley. The thing that was missing in Nacho Libre, that Napoleon Dynamite delivered in great quantities, is heart. This movie jumped into the larger plot, and the accompanying slapstick comedy, without first convincing me to care about its main character. I don't know if that was a problem of the writing, or of Jack Black, but the two just did not mesh for me into a leading man that I cared about. Watching someone you like act in a bizarre and heroic way can be very funny. Watching someone you don't know that well, or that you don't care about, often isn't, regardless of what they do.
Another thing that misfired about the movie is that it felt like it was making fun of the monastery and the professional wrestling circuit in Mexico. It's hard to parody something well, and have it be funny, without also communicating to the audience that you genuinely love the thing of which you're making fun. As a Christian, and a fan of professional wrestling, I don't mind an opportunity to laugh with someone, at my own expense. It's a large target. However, I don't like being laughed at. It's a fine but important distinction.
All of the above said, I remember thinking this movie was funny when it came out. It's possible that I've matured out of the demographic at which this story is aimed, or that I've just grown to dislike Jack Black in the intervening years. I watched this intending to preview it, just to see how old someone might need to be to watch this and enjoy it. The movie is family friendly and should be a safe watch for anyone about 10 or older. There is little to no bad language in the entire movie. The violence is slapstick professional wrestling type stuff (there is no blood at all in the movie, though there is one scene where someone is stabbed in the eye for comedic effect.) There is no nudity or sexual content - only some sexual innuendo and that is sparing and mild. Much of the humor of the movie is potty humor and things like crotch punches during the wrestling matches.
Overall, I am sad to say I didn't enjoy this, because I definitely went in expecting to like it, but I could see where someone else might. Maybe I just watched this on the wrong day. It's odd, with lots of great one-liners, the main character has a hero's journey, and it's family friendly.
Have you seen Nacho Libre? If so, what did you think?
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