Nacho Libre

Si, Nacho está libre, pero no es divertido. Apparently, writer/director Jared Hess failed to look up the word “comedy” before making this film, because, in general, comedies have jokes in them. Nacho Libre, an extended sketch routine from an early ’60s American TV show that specializes in making fun of Mexicans, has four laughs, and none of them are big laughs. In between, there are a lot of sly, winking attempts at hipster humor, but they fail as miserably as Danny DeVito’s short-lived reggae career. Jack Black stars as Ignacio, a monk who wants to be a pro wrestler. Héctor Jiménez is reasonably funny as his sidekick Esqueleto, and Ana de la Reguera is beautiful as Ignacio’s love interest, Sister Encarnación. Unfortunately, she has no lines and is used mostly as a prop for her prettiness. Then again, she should count herself blessed, as almost every joke in the film falls flat. Nacho Libre is a wannabe cult film that winds up being a successful soporific. See it only if you’re in desperate need of air conditioning.