Poll Position: Nacho Libre

Another poll and another tie, and it is great to see that two very different movies win. We did decide to do this poll after the passing of the great Macho Man Randy Savage. I think it is safe to say, a lot of us were fans of wrestling, I know I was a huge fan back when I was young and it is just wonderful to try to relive the fun I had. Today I get to watch Jack Black’s Nacho Libre, and I could not wait to see this. I love comedies and I love Jack Black so this is a no brainer to me. Click more to find out if it fills my expectations.

To sum up this movie, it is cute and quirky and that is exactly what I am looking for in a family movie. And this is exactly what I get from the story. Jack Black plays Nacho, who is a monastery cook who feeds all the orphans. Though he loves the kids very much, his true love is wrestling. But the sport is looked down upon by the monastery and the newest nun, Sister Encarnaciόn. As he hides his true identity with his mask, he calls upon an unusual friend to tag team with. They fight up the ranks to become kings of wrestling! And even take on the great Ramses.

Nacho vs. Ramses. Great fight to watch.

By far the best part of the movie is the innocence of the movie; it is clean and fun to watch. And because a lot of the jokes were targeted to the young audience, the movie was corny and cheesy at times. Though that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment, it made me feel like I was child and watching Sunday morning cartoons. The fights were a hoot to watch, mainly because of the tacky and over the top fight moves. But credit to the actors and stuntmen that did some of these wacky wrestling moves. And yes, because all the actors had the stereotypical Mexican accent, it did give the humour a little flair that I enjoyed.

But sadly that is all I can say good about the movie. I did find this movie to be a disappointment when it came to the humour. And just like Jack, I am a child at heart. I love kicking back and watching Spongebob or Magic School Bus once in a while, and I love cheesy children’s humour. Though I didn’t find this movie all too funny, I did smile a few times but left the movie a bit let down. I really wish Jack Black was as goofy as he usually is; he seemed to be very toned down and mellow. Maybe it was because of his role, but I did not like that at all. Nacho’s partner in crime, Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez) was a lot more fun to watch, and the pair did make a great tag team.

The amazing tag team duo of Nacho and Esqueleto.

To sum it all up, this movie had a lot of great scenes that were entertaining. The childish atmosphere makes this movie easily enjoyable for almost everyone. But I expected more from Jack Black and wished the jokes were a lot funnier. I bet if I saw this movie with my little cousins, I would have a great time watching Nacho Libre. But because I saw this alone, Nacho was stale, the cheesy jokes was rotten and I could never find the inner child in me to enjoy this with.