Review of Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre (2006)
8/10
Very silly, but also very funny
15 August 2019
This Jack Black comedy sees him playing Nacho, a young monk working as a cook in the remote Mexican monastery/orphanage where he was raised. As a child he dreamt of becoming a luchador, wrestler, but this is forbidden as such activities are seen as a sign of vanity. He regularly goes into town to get food for the orphans and one day he is robbed by a street thief, Steven. Shortly afterwards he sees champion masked luchador Ramses being mobbed by fans... he has a plan. He persuades Steven to become a tag-wrestler with him; if he wears a mask the monastery won't find out what he is doing. They aren't very good at wrestling but still they get paid so continue, determined to get better and turn professional so he can buy a bus for the orphans and thus impress the attractive Sister Encarnación.

Not surprisingly this film is very silly; thankfully it also provides lots of laughs. Much of this is physical with fights that are funny but still feel like the characters are wrestling and some hilarious training scenes. Jack Black is hilarious as Nacho; his put-on Mexican accent is so ridiculous it is funny rather than offensive. Héctor Jiménez is equally funny as his wrestling partner Steven. The rest of the cast are solid although their characters are mostly not comically. The story doesn't deliver any real surprises but it does serve to deliver the laughs. Overall this may be fairly light weight but I'd recommend it to anybody wanting a good laugh and little to cause offence.
13 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed