Thursday, July 06, 2006
Nacho Libre
Jared Hess (the director of the wildly funny Napoleon Dynamite) and Jack Black (personifies wildly funny) teamed to make Nacho Libre. Can’t miss right? I mean, that is going to be nonstop funny, yes? Ummmm…no. To quote one of the better lines from the movie: “It was a stinky.” Actually, the movie didn’t stink and it led to some mild chuckling, but given the comedic fire power at work here, I expected and just plain wanted more.
Even before I saw this movie, I had heard not to expect much and so with lowered expectations and a carefree attitude that can only be brought on by a Thursday afternoon matinee while on vacation with my best pal in LA, I bought my ticket and looked forward to a couple hours of silliness. What I got was one of the worst accents in the history of Hollywood, some funny wrestling scenes, a really skinny dude and a not quite fat enough dude becoming friends and yet another actress who looks like Penelope Cruz.
What’s that about by the way? First there was Sidney’s sister on Alias and now there’s another one. Is someone cloning Cruz? I know some people think she’s beautiful (I say, call me after you start eating more than 3 meals a week. And by “call me” I of course mean “don’t call me, I’m married, what are you trying to pull here?”), but next time can we vote on who gets cloned? I can only think of about 50 actresses off hand that would be ahead of her on the list. Oh well.
What it’s about: Nacho is an orphan raised by monks? Padres? Priests? ...I’m not really sure, let’s just call them “religious guys in robes” and grows up in this small Mexican orphanage to become one of these religious guys but with much bigger hair. He reluctantly goes about his duties as the orphanage’s cook dreaming of the day when he can pursue his real dreams as his small village's Mexican professional wrestler. See? That already sounds funny right? He hooks up with a really skinny guy off the streets and they begin secretly wrestling at night while maintaining their secret identities as mild-mannered religious guy and skinny street guy by day. Eventually, there is more wrestling and some mildly funny attempts to impress Penelope Cruz 3.
What’s to like: Jack Black’s Mexican/Italian/California accent is so awful, it is funny. Sometimes, he can barely speak English. Other times he speaks with a slight lisp. Often he completely casts aside any attempt to have an accent at all. Seriously, if you can spend the next 2 minutes doing a half-hearted impression of the taco bell dog, you will be doing a better accent than Black. That said, it was perfect for this over the top campy movie. I loved it.
I loved that he tries to woo Cruz the 3rd by bringing her toast in the middle of the night. No, that’s not a euphemism, and there is no explanation as to why someone, Mexican religious guy or otherwise, would try to do this. Good stuff.
The skinny guy was great. He was like all those random characters in Napoleon Dynamite that make every scene awkward, strange and entrancing. His full gum grimace and moaning about his hair being pulled out are some of the funniest things about this movie.
The wrestling scenes, where Black gets to cut loose and be himself are all pretty funny.
Basically Hess recreates the same look and feel he had going in Dynamite. There are the same dramatic exits, strange close ups, unexplained moments of just watching people’s strange faces doing odd things. Everything is perfectly understated. Everything, that is, except Jack Black who just happens to be in every scene and is about as understated as a bright orange Lamborghini.
There was enough comedy in the movie to keep me sort of giggling or snickering through most of it, though never any laugh hard moments, but I wasn’t in pain or bored watching it.
What I could have done without: I hate to say this, but…Jack Black. He often provided some of the funniest parts of the movie just being himself, but he was so over the top and generally inconsistent with the way he approached a scene, it came off as amateurish and lame most of the time. When everyone else was understated and odd, he was loud and melodramatic. Some was funny, but he also sabotaged any chance this movie had of being really funny.
One guy gets randomly stabbed in the eye and it’s sick. It is out of context and doesn’t fit with the movie at all. Very strange and disturbing. Could've done without that.
Those Sprite adds that are trying to be subliminal. I know that’s not in the movie, but they run it over and over before every movie and they consistently make me want to punch someone and that is just no way to start a funny movie.
Stay with me here, but Jack Black wasn’t fat enough. Jack Black is fat. He is not pretty to look at, but they relied heavily on sight gags of him without his shirt and in spandex pants trying to appear sexy or macho. Remember that classic SNL skit with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze trying out to be Chip ‘n Dale dancers? 75% of the humor in that skit was how fat and gross Farley was. He was huge. He may have eaten Swayze after that skit, which would help explain (along with a definite lack of talent) Swayze’s career disappearing act. Black is fat, but in a sort of typical American who spends too much time on the couch drinking Big Gulps and playing video games sort of way. For the humor to work, he really needed to be fat in a it’s time to intervene before he explodes right in front of us kind of way.
I could have used some more funny in this movie. Like maybe 3 times as much. Just nothing really clever and agonizingly long stretches between anything funny. It was like everyone just stood back and said, “hey Jack, be funny now.” And then probably stood around saying, “that doesn’t seem funny, but it’s Jack Black, it must be funny, …right? Right?”
Sadly, it just wasn’t.
Who do you like: The skinny guy is great. Seriously, I wish he had been the main character. I could have watched him do nothing but grimace and look pained for an hour and a half and I would have been happy. Let’s hope we see him in more.
What’s new: The skinny guy was new. Nothing else of note.
What’s the last word: The ending was actually really good. I don’t think I’m giving anything away here by saying there is a wrestling scene prominently involved and it is so ridiculous it is funny. One of the best scenes in the movie, so at least it went out with a bang.
Who you should bring: People whose reality has already been altered with the help of pharmecuticals. If this movie is going to be funny at all it will only be to people who worship Jack Black and who are 16-35 and probably male. I don’t know why women would like this movie and wouldn’t expect men to like it all that much. Don’t go looking for your buddy who loved Napolean Dynamite or School of Rock, because they will only be disappointed. Instead, find your friend who just laughs every few minutes for no apparent reason.
Where you should watch: No need for a big screen. The visuals were interesting at times, but you can wait until this one comes out on cable.
What’s the couch rating: Tanya would have been in REM sleep before the opening credits ended. One shot of Jack Black in that hideous hair and belly and she would have closed her eyes not to reopen them until I was taking her off to bed with her asking me in a dazed stupor, “why did you choose that movie?”
What my gut tells me: I didn’t hate it. I wasn’t angry I had watched it, but I only spent about 3 minutes quoting back diologue and referencing scenes after the movie which is about 4 years less than I do with a good comedy. I guess that last sentence should also serve as a warning in case you ever spend time around me.
What it’s like: Napolean Dynamite except that Napoleon is played by Jim Carey and nothing really funny happens.
Where it rates: 5. Maybe the perfect 5.
Even before I saw this movie, I had heard not to expect much and so with lowered expectations and a carefree attitude that can only be brought on by a Thursday afternoon matinee while on vacation with my best pal in LA, I bought my ticket and looked forward to a couple hours of silliness. What I got was one of the worst accents in the history of Hollywood, some funny wrestling scenes, a really skinny dude and a not quite fat enough dude becoming friends and yet another actress who looks like Penelope Cruz.
What’s that about by the way? First there was Sidney’s sister on Alias and now there’s another one. Is someone cloning Cruz? I know some people think she’s beautiful (I say, call me after you start eating more than 3 meals a week. And by “call me” I of course mean “don’t call me, I’m married, what are you trying to pull here?”), but next time can we vote on who gets cloned? I can only think of about 50 actresses off hand that would be ahead of her on the list. Oh well.
What it’s about: Nacho is an orphan raised by monks? Padres? Priests? ...I’m not really sure, let’s just call them “religious guys in robes” and grows up in this small Mexican orphanage to become one of these religious guys but with much bigger hair. He reluctantly goes about his duties as the orphanage’s cook dreaming of the day when he can pursue his real dreams as his small village's Mexican professional wrestler. See? That already sounds funny right? He hooks up with a really skinny guy off the streets and they begin secretly wrestling at night while maintaining their secret identities as mild-mannered religious guy and skinny street guy by day. Eventually, there is more wrestling and some mildly funny attempts to impress Penelope Cruz 3.
What’s to like: Jack Black’s Mexican/Italian/California accent is so awful, it is funny. Sometimes, he can barely speak English. Other times he speaks with a slight lisp. Often he completely casts aside any attempt to have an accent at all. Seriously, if you can spend the next 2 minutes doing a half-hearted impression of the taco bell dog, you will be doing a better accent than Black. That said, it was perfect for this over the top campy movie. I loved it.
I loved that he tries to woo Cruz the 3rd by bringing her toast in the middle of the night. No, that’s not a euphemism, and there is no explanation as to why someone, Mexican religious guy or otherwise, would try to do this. Good stuff.
The skinny guy was great. He was like all those random characters in Napoleon Dynamite that make every scene awkward, strange and entrancing. His full gum grimace and moaning about his hair being pulled out are some of the funniest things about this movie.
The wrestling scenes, where Black gets to cut loose and be himself are all pretty funny.
Basically Hess recreates the same look and feel he had going in Dynamite. There are the same dramatic exits, strange close ups, unexplained moments of just watching people’s strange faces doing odd things. Everything is perfectly understated. Everything, that is, except Jack Black who just happens to be in every scene and is about as understated as a bright orange Lamborghini.
There was enough comedy in the movie to keep me sort of giggling or snickering through most of it, though never any laugh hard moments, but I wasn’t in pain or bored watching it.
What I could have done without: I hate to say this, but…Jack Black. He often provided some of the funniest parts of the movie just being himself, but he was so over the top and generally inconsistent with the way he approached a scene, it came off as amateurish and lame most of the time. When everyone else was understated and odd, he was loud and melodramatic. Some was funny, but he also sabotaged any chance this movie had of being really funny.
One guy gets randomly stabbed in the eye and it’s sick. It is out of context and doesn’t fit with the movie at all. Very strange and disturbing. Could've done without that.
Those Sprite adds that are trying to be subliminal. I know that’s not in the movie, but they run it over and over before every movie and they consistently make me want to punch someone and that is just no way to start a funny movie.
Stay with me here, but Jack Black wasn’t fat enough. Jack Black is fat. He is not pretty to look at, but they relied heavily on sight gags of him without his shirt and in spandex pants trying to appear sexy or macho. Remember that classic SNL skit with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze trying out to be Chip ‘n Dale dancers? 75% of the humor in that skit was how fat and gross Farley was. He was huge. He may have eaten Swayze after that skit, which would help explain (along with a definite lack of talent) Swayze’s career disappearing act. Black is fat, but in a sort of typical American who spends too much time on the couch drinking Big Gulps and playing video games sort of way. For the humor to work, he really needed to be fat in a it’s time to intervene before he explodes right in front of us kind of way.
I could have used some more funny in this movie. Like maybe 3 times as much. Just nothing really clever and agonizingly long stretches between anything funny. It was like everyone just stood back and said, “hey Jack, be funny now.” And then probably stood around saying, “that doesn’t seem funny, but it’s Jack Black, it must be funny, …right? Right?”
Sadly, it just wasn’t.
Who do you like: The skinny guy is great. Seriously, I wish he had been the main character. I could have watched him do nothing but grimace and look pained for an hour and a half and I would have been happy. Let’s hope we see him in more.
What’s new: The skinny guy was new. Nothing else of note.
What’s the last word: The ending was actually really good. I don’t think I’m giving anything away here by saying there is a wrestling scene prominently involved and it is so ridiculous it is funny. One of the best scenes in the movie, so at least it went out with a bang.
Who you should bring: People whose reality has already been altered with the help of pharmecuticals. If this movie is going to be funny at all it will only be to people who worship Jack Black and who are 16-35 and probably male. I don’t know why women would like this movie and wouldn’t expect men to like it all that much. Don’t go looking for your buddy who loved Napolean Dynamite or School of Rock, because they will only be disappointed. Instead, find your friend who just laughs every few minutes for no apparent reason.
Where you should watch: No need for a big screen. The visuals were interesting at times, but you can wait until this one comes out on cable.
What’s the couch rating: Tanya would have been in REM sleep before the opening credits ended. One shot of Jack Black in that hideous hair and belly and she would have closed her eyes not to reopen them until I was taking her off to bed with her asking me in a dazed stupor, “why did you choose that movie?”
What my gut tells me: I didn’t hate it. I wasn’t angry I had watched it, but I only spent about 3 minutes quoting back diologue and referencing scenes after the movie which is about 4 years less than I do with a good comedy. I guess that last sentence should also serve as a warning in case you ever spend time around me.
What it’s like: Napolean Dynamite except that Napoleon is played by Jim Carey and nothing really funny happens.
Where it rates: 5. Maybe the perfect 5.
# posted by Josh Stump : 10:33 PM
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