Nacho Libre

Directed By: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez
Running Time: 1h 32min

There are several types of comedies. There are the ones with good jokes, or good performances, or good premises. There are ones that are funny parodies or situationally funny. There are even the ones that are so stupid, they're funny. Sadly, Nacho Libre is none of these, and fails miserably as a comedy in any form.

Hess' follow-up to the unbelivably successful and quietly yet riotly hilarious Napolean Dynamite is perhaps a legendary bomb of a sophmore jinx. Never has such promise and buzz been squandered so quickly. Jack Black, single handed saviour and upstager of many a film sets his career three steps back as the lead character, a monk cook at an orphanage who moonlights as el matador, Mexican wrestler.

Relying on the odd and ridiculous, Hess tries to recapture the magic that made Napolean Dynamite quirky, yet lovable. However, Black's zaniness works best when the world around him is normal; but in this film his insanity is lost in the sea of ludicrous that populates the film. And none of it is funny. There's just a series of scenes where people get punched or hit or kicked or crushed and it's supposed to be funny. WWE is funnier than this, because they play it straight. This film goes for the laughs and ends up empty.

Perhaps the only funny thing is Jack Black's accent, but even that gets tired and annoying quickly. Avoid this film at all costs. In fact, watch Mexican wrestling instead. It has more drama, romance, and comedy than a thousand Nacho Libres combined.

Grade: D-