Nacho Libre
| Year: | 2006 |
| Studio: | Paramount |
| Director: | Jared Hess |
| Producer: | Jared Hess |
| Cast: | Jack Black |
A lot of people didn't like this movie, both critics and moviegoers. And yes it was a bizarre concept, but the number of times I laughed hard enough to not be able to breathe more than warrants its value as a comedy, so by that reckoning it was a successful film.
A huge part of the appeal is that Jack Black wasn't afraid to take the piss out of himself, using his body, voice and actions to elicit an emotional response in the audience that you just can't put on paper - the definition of an actor. In King Kong he was a very generic character, but here he lets his personality fill the role beautifully.
He plays a Mexican friar at an orphanage in the rural Mexican panhandle of the (seemingly) early 20th century. He harbours a secret desire to be a pro wrestler, sneaking out at nights with his homeless street urchin partner to try and realise his dreams.
The premise and execution themselves are so far out of left field you can't help but laugh to begin with, but Black and the script inject such off-kilter hysteria into the movie it becomes a cult comedy piece. Nothing belongs together, the plot is a mess, the cinematic landscape is completely alien to us, and it works.
A huge part of the appeal is that Jack Black wasn't afraid to take the piss out of himself, using his body, voice and actions to elicit an emotional response in the audience that you just can't put on paper - the definition of an actor. In King Kong he was a very generic character, but here he lets his personality fill the role beautifully.
He plays a Mexican friar at an orphanage in the rural Mexican panhandle of the (seemingly) early 20th century. He harbours a secret desire to be a pro wrestler, sneaking out at nights with his homeless street urchin partner to try and realise his dreams.
The premise and execution themselves are so far out of left field you can't help but laugh to begin with, but Black and the script inject such off-kilter hysteria into the movie it becomes a cult comedy piece. Nothing belongs together, the plot is a mess, the cinematic landscape is completely alien to us, and it works.