NACHO LIBRE

by Jane Louise Boursaw

Should you bring the kids? Lots of butt-jokes, crazy stunts, and wrestling-ring violence. Twelve-year-old boys will love it, but it's not for kids under 10. For more info, see "Bringing the Kids" below.

THE STORY: Jack Black stars as Ignacio, a monk who works as a cook in the Mexican monastery where he was raised. But he just doesn't fit in. He cares deeply for the orphans, but the food is terrible. So he decides to make some money so he can buy better food for "the young orphans, who have nothing." And if he can also impress the lovely Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) at the same time, that would be a big plus.

Ignacio gets the idea to earn money as a Lucha Libre wrestler, and discovers he has a natural talent for wrestling (and, indeed, Jack Black is surprisingly agile in the ring!). So he becomes "Nacho Libre," a masked wrestler who takes matches for cash. His training partner, Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez, the "Pedro" of this movie) puts him through his paces, but not without inflicting lots of bodily harm during training sessions gone awry.

A major flaw in Nacho's plan is that wrestling is strictly forbidden by the church elders at the monastery. So he's forced to lead a double life, concealing his true identity with a sky blue mask and painfully tight wrestling outfit. For the first time in his life, he fits in and has something to fight for. He tries telling Sister Encarnacion that he wants the respect that the luchadores (Mexican wrestlers) get, but she tells him, "Wrestling is a sin. When you fight for someone who needs your help, only then will God bless you."

THE WRAP-UP: Ok, so this movie hasn't gotten great ratings from the other critics. But come on, people! Take it for what it is -- a goofy movie that shows off Jack Black's off-the-wall humor. Given the offbeat sensibilities of him, the director (Napoleon Dynamite), and the writer Mike White (The Good Girl and School of Rock), you can't argue that this movie is one of the more original offerings in the 2006 schedule. But you'll only like it if you appreciate Black's goofy brand of humor, which most people find either 1) wacky and charming, or 2) completely annoying. I'm in the former category, but found his constant mugging-for-the-camera to be a little tiresome after a while.

What I found more interesting is the history of the Lucha Libre, which they really don't delve into much in this movie. Loosely translated into English as "free-style fighting," Lucha Libre is a type of Mexican wrestling that dates back to the 1930's. It's marked by high-flying stunts and intense holds and moves, and morphed into this country in the 1960's with "Big-Time Wrestling". The performers, known as Luchadores, wear colorful masks displaying images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes, whose identity the Luchador takes on during a performance. I wonder how real-life Luchadores will take this movie, since it sometimes goes for laughs at their expense.

BRINGING THE KIDS:

PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): The crude humor and rough action in this movie are too much for preschoolers. There's no shortage of preschool-friendly heroes, but one for one with a Mexican flavor, check out "Dora the Explorer: Super Silly Fiesta". The adventurous little Latina girl and her pal, Boots, are invited to the Big Red Chicken's fiesta, but when the big chick loses his cake, Dora and Boots save the day. In "Go, Diego, Go: The Great Dinosaur Rescue," Dora's cousin takes center-stage and introduces kids to dinosaurs in a gentle way. Also, look for a new animated series, "El Tigre," to air on Nickelodeon Television in 2007. Inspired by Mexican folk art and spaghetti westerns, the show centers on a teenage boy, Manny Rivera (a.k.a. El Tigre), who must choose to become a great superhero like his father, Rodolpho or a feared super-villain like his grandfather.

GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): Jack Black is really just a big kid in disguise! This movie is silly, funny, and oddly sweet in a spaghetti-western kind of way, with Ignacio's quest to give the orphans better food. But parents should know it contains lots of wrestling violence (body slams, flying leaps, one character gets a corncob in the eye). The training sessions involve bees, rocks, arrows, flying fruit, and a bull, and the story contains references to feces, passing gas, diarrhea and lots of butt jokes – basically, the stuff 12-year-old boys everywhere will love. Also, some of Nacho's opponents are quirky characters, including some feral dwarf wrestlers that'll have you going, "Say what…?"

TWEEN / TEEN (ages 11+): With Jack Black, what you have is a guy who's totally comfortable with who he is. He's not into doing 300 sit-ups every day or chasing after the latest diet craze. He couldn't care less about donning "stretchy pants" (though it's an image I'd just as soon forget), because it's all done in the name of comedy. That's not a bad message for tweens and teens, who are bombarded every day with messages that they're NOT ok and need to change – lose weight, get a nose job, pierce their nose, or whatever. This film does a good job of that, while at the same time making us laugh and clueing us into some time-honored traditions in the Mexican culture.

SCORE: 2.5 out of 4 Reels

Jane's Reel Rating System:
One Reel: Pathetic. Even The Force can’t save it.
Two Reels: Tolerable. Coulda been a contender.
Three Reels: Thought-provoking. Something to talk about.
Four Reels: Wow! The stuff dreams are made of.

E-chat with me at jane@reellifewithjane.com - I LOVE to talk about movies!

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