Holly
06-28-2006, 10:30 AM
There's no question Jack Black is an acquired taste. Put him together with the director of “Napoleon Dynamite,” and the taste is even more acquired.
“Nacho Libre” is sure to be one of the more offbeat studio releases of the summer season, and while that may be a bit off-putting to those who prefer typical mass-market entertainment, it's also an encouraging sign that originality isn't completely a thing of the past where Hollywood is concerned. And it couldn't be if you're hiring Jared Hess, the filmmaker who made Jon Heder an immediate movie cult hero in “Napoleon Dynamite.”
In “Nacho Libre,” Black plays a cook in the Mexican monastery where he was raised ... oh, yeah, THAT one again. He wants to help the place financially, and also to raise his own status personally, and he recognizes there's the opportunity for both by moonlighting as a masked wrestler.
That's the basic set-up, onto which all sorts of tangents and sight gags are attached, with Black staying front-and-center throughout. His biggest mass-market hit to date was “The School of Rock,” and whether his success in that translates into the same here remains to be seen -- but there's always something just-askew-enough about him to satisfy those who appreciate his being a very unlikely movie star, while also satisfying those who put up the money to hopefully make big profits from his screen antics.
If you don't care for Jack Black, wrestling or “Napoleon Dynamite,” it's safe to say “Nacho Libre” shouldn't be at the top of your movie-sampling list this summer. On the other hand, if you're willing to go for something quite unpredictable -- and pretty admirable for that alone, in this era of aiming for sure bets at the box office -- it's certainly worth a shot.
(Rated PG)
“Nacho Libre” is sure to be one of the more offbeat studio releases of the summer season, and while that may be a bit off-putting to those who prefer typical mass-market entertainment, it's also an encouraging sign that originality isn't completely a thing of the past where Hollywood is concerned. And it couldn't be if you're hiring Jared Hess, the filmmaker who made Jon Heder an immediate movie cult hero in “Napoleon Dynamite.”
In “Nacho Libre,” Black plays a cook in the Mexican monastery where he was raised ... oh, yeah, THAT one again. He wants to help the place financially, and also to raise his own status personally, and he recognizes there's the opportunity for both by moonlighting as a masked wrestler.
That's the basic set-up, onto which all sorts of tangents and sight gags are attached, with Black staying front-and-center throughout. His biggest mass-market hit to date was “The School of Rock,” and whether his success in that translates into the same here remains to be seen -- but there's always something just-askew-enough about him to satisfy those who appreciate his being a very unlikely movie star, while also satisfying those who put up the money to hopefully make big profits from his screen antics.
If you don't care for Jack Black, wrestling or “Napoleon Dynamite,” it's safe to say “Nacho Libre” shouldn't be at the top of your movie-sampling list this summer. On the other hand, if you're willing to go for something quite unpredictable -- and pretty admirable for that alone, in this era of aiming for sure bets at the box office -- it's certainly worth a shot.
(Rated PG)