Monastery cook Ignacio (Jack Black) fulfills a lifelong dream of becoming a wrestler, called Nacho, to raise money for the orphanage where he grew up. Directed by Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”).
Big question: Is a whole movie of Jack Black shtick ever too much of a good thing?
Skip it: The film crunches Nacho into cartoonish idiocy, built from random outbursts of singing, physicality and farting. Black can be a competent, even endearing hero (“School of Rock”), but “Nacho Libre” is an airtight packaging of the actor’s worst tendencies.
Catch it: If you can’t get enough of Black’s manic behavior, including the sight of him running–well, jiggling–without a shirt.
Bottom line: Hess and company don’t create jokes, just catchphrases. He maintains a constant disdain for the stupid and socially awkward, once again struggling to generate a laugh that isn’t at the expense of someone we’re supposed to like.
Bonus: Looking for a cheap first date? Nacho has an idea: “I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night … for some toast.”
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MPAIS@TRIBUNE.COM
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