Nacho Libre (2006)

Berated all his life by those around him, a monk follows his dream and dons a mask to moonlight as a Luchador (Mexican wrestler).

Director:

Jared Hess

Writers:

Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess,

Stars:

Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez

10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Black	...	Nacho
Ana de la Reguera	...	Sister Encarnación
Héctor Jiménez	...	Esqueleto
Darius Rose	...	Chancho (as Darius A. Rose)
Moises Arias	...	Juan Pablo
Diego Eduardo Gomez	...	Chuy
Carlos Maycotte	...	Segundo Nuñez
Richard Montoya	...	Guillermo
Cesar Gonzalez	...	Ramses (as Cesar Gonzalez 'Silver King')
Rafael Montalvo	...	Elderly Monk
Julio Sandoval	...	Snaggle Tooth Monk
Ventura 'Tigre Hispano' Lahoz	...	Arena Referee #1
Felipe Jesus 'Terror Chino' Hernandez	...	Arena Referee #2
Enrique Muñoz	...	Señor Ramon
Carla Jimenez	...	Candidia

Storyline

Nacho (Black) is a monastery cook, who spends his day feeding orphans and being overlooked by the monastery. When Sister Encarnación (Reguera) arrive at the monastery, Nacho realises that the only way to win her affection and to save the children, will be by competing as a Luchador wrestler.

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Plot Keywords:

lucha libre | mexico | nun | wrestling | frat pack | 

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Taglines:

He's nacho average hero

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [us] United International Pictures [fr]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Jack Black Project

Filming Locations:

Mexican Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$21,138 (Chile) (6 October 2006)

Gross:

$524,529 (New Zealand) (6 October 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Black & White Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Chancho" is Mexican slang for pig, Esqueleto translates as skeleton.

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Goofs

During the fight sequence between Ramses and Nacho towards the end of the movie, Nacho is knocked down and Ramses pulls him back up by his hair. Ramses then punches him once or twice, and then goes to knee him in the face. When he does this, you can see that Ramses knee never makes contact with Nacho's. It is actually several inches away.

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Quotes

Nacho: Where is he?

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.55 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Return of the Luchador"
by Beck (as Beck Hansen)

User Reviews

Outrageously Funny & Much Better Than I Expected

I make no apologies for liking this movie. It seemed everyone at the video store, from the manager on down, all thought otherwise....but I took a shot, rented it, and laughed my butt off watching this film. Now I own it.

Jack Black was hilarious as the monk-pro wrestling wannabe "Nacho." The premise alone is humorous: an overweight Mexican monk who would rather be a famous wrestler. It doesn't say much for his spirituality, but it made for a lot of laughs.

It's all outrageous, absurd humor, not meant to do anything but evoke laughs, at any cost......just harmless fun. Detractors should keep that in mind.

I have no interest in wrestling but the wrestling scenes in this film had me constantly laughing out loud. Black's tag-team partner, "Esquelito" (Hector Jimenez) was just as funny as the main star, if not funnier. Just the look on his face with all his teeth sticking out was funny!

I have no interest in being a monk, either, but I know none of these "monks" in here were realistic figures, especially the nun: "Sister Encarcion" (Ana de la Reguera ). No offense, but only in the movies are nuns this beautiful. Wow, Reguera looked like a cross between Penelope Cruz and a young Winona Ryder. And, she wasn't just beautiful, but a sweet lady, too.

Although it's a comedy, the story had some nice touches of sentimentality and humanity, namely: "Nacho's" attitude adjustment, his genuine compassion for orphaned kids that the Brothers and Sisters took care of, and his basic desire to do good despite a very weak commitment to "vows."

Maybe that's why there are so many critics of this film: it wasn't mean-edged and nasty enough to satisfy them. However,those who appreciate good slapstick will like this movie.

Also, if you appreciate bold, beautiful colors, you'll find this an attractive movie. There was a feast of brilliant colors shown. I was impressed how much effort was made to make this movie look nice in addition to getting laughs.

In, a very, very pleasant surprise: much better than I ever hoped it would be....and recommended for those wanting a bunch of belly laughs for an hour-and-a-half.