Review of Nacho Libre (2006) by Andrew M — 29 Jun 2016

Following the success of Sundance darling and cult classic Napoleon Dynamite, director Jared Hess moves on to a slightly bigger film in the form of Nacho Libre, and while it can't really match the same sort of quirky charm that made Napoleon Dynamite so oddly endearing, it's a pretty funny little film. There's plenty of the deadpan humor that feels reminiscent of Hess' past work, but many jokes this time around come from the always goofy and over-the-top Jack Black, who takes the lead as Ignacio/Nacho. There's moments where Black feels like he's overdoing it, and his more outrageous sense of comedy clashes with the very stoic sense of humor of the actors around him, but for the most part, his jokes land consistently. If anything, you can tell he's having a blast onscreen, and he truly embraces the absurdity of his role; this is a white man playing a Mexican cook, after all. His chemistry with Hector Jimenez, who plays Nacho's wrestling partner, is delightful, and the two share lots of hilarious back-and-forth moments throughout the film. The film itself is quite predictable, but it's not a film that's trying to reinvigorate its genre: it's a comedy that knows exactly what it wants to be, and it does it quite well.

Black's sense of comedy takes some getting used to in comparison to the rest of the film, but once the jokes start landing, they really start landing. Fans of Jack Black and Jared Hess' sense of comedy will certainly have a good time with Nacho Libre.