Nacho Libre (HD-DVD)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

Can you make a cult film by combining others who just made cult films?  Paramount wondered and got the director of Napoleon Dynamite Jared Hess to direct a script by School Of Rock writer Mike White resulting in a star vehicle for Jack Black from School Of Rock entitled Nacho Libre (2006) about a monastery cook who decided to go undercover to be a wrestler.  He is willing to commit this sacrilege so the children at the orphanage can get more money and better food.  He is also falling for a pretty nun (Ana de la Reguera in an understated comic performance) who may like him but is on the no-nonsense side.

 

Is some of this racist in its depiction of people from another country?  No, but it is at least racial at times, though it is so busy being dumb on purpose that it is as harmless as a Speedy Gonzales cartoon.  Much of the time, we see Nacho (Black) in what we might consider a shaky idea of training and definitely some wrestling matches that do not go his way.

 

The film was made somewhat child-safe as a release by Paramount with the Nickelodeon Cable network name on it.  The film is predictable, mildly amusing at best and harmless all around.  However, only fans of Black and children who find it a favorite will find any rewatchability in it.

 

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot by Xavier Perez in a way that the film looks a tad cheap (part of the joke?) and that it takes place in a country that is dusty.  That dulls the picture quality, but some of it at least seems intended.  The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix is also subdued, though it has some funny audio moments and some character.  Music varies and includes Black’s “unique” vocal phrasings, while Danny Elfman does another one of his goofy formula scores he has been doing for over two decades.

 

Extras include two full-length audio commentaries: one by Jack Black, Jared Hess and Mike White, the other by Black, director Jared Hess and writer Mike White, plus you also get deleted scenes, Nacho Libre Comic Book Creator, 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes, stills and a Jack Sings piece.  The more you like the film, the more you’ll enjoy the extras.  If not, they still have their moments.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo