Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre is three movies smooshed into one. It's a Nickelodeon produced-movie, meaning the humor is largely geared towards smarter eight-year old's. It's a Jack Black movie, which includes his impish mugging and Tenacious D-style songs. It's also a Jared Hess movie, the man that brought us 2004's gargantuan sleeper hit Napoleon Dynamite, which means the movie is plot-light and dialogue-light, but full of scenes striving for cult greatness with the characters speaking in easily quotable non-sequiturs.

I don't think the mixture is as smooth as it needs to be, but it's an easy movie to like, even if it's not hilarious, because it has a lot of heart. Ignacio (Black) is a cook at a dusty Mexican orphanage who longs for a better life. Inspired by luchadore superstar Ramses (Cesar Gonzales, who U.S. wrestling fans may know as WCW's Silver King) and a chance meeting with a street kid named Esqueleto (a memorably toothy Hector Jiminez), he dons the guise of wrestler Nacho. This move allows him to tap into his desire for a different life, fighting matches in front of rabid crowds at night, but he's conflicted about the Godliness of it all, especially when a new nun played by Ana DeLaReguera looks down at pro wrestling as something unGodly.

I can't help but think that people are going to be disappointed with how generally unfunny the film is, but it's light-hearted and never boring, so it's a little hard to fault. There are brief moments when all three forces at work in thie film come together to deliver something wholly original, but these moments are too few and far between. Instead we get something like this: A Nickelodeon scene, followed by a Jack Black scene, followed by a Napoleon Dynamite scene. It's a schizoid film, and one that will win some over and drive others far, far away.

I can't say it fully won me over, but it's "you either get it or you don't" attitude reminded me a little bit of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, a movie that I love. With some time and distance, this could find a cult audience after a few years. Director/writer Jared Hess will have to be happy enough with that as not all films can become overnight cult monster hits like Napoleon.