Nacho Libre

It must have sounded foolproof. Cast Jack Black as Brother Ignacio, a Mexican monk moonlighting as a masked wrestler to better the lot of the orphanage and you’re laughing already. Sadly, the theory doesn’t translate into practice as the director of ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ and the writer of ‘School of Rock’ together provide a masterclass in how not to be funny. Indecision seems to have been the killer. Co-produced by the children’s TV network Nickleodeon, it’s sort of a kids’ movie clearly straining to be a little bit naughtier. The love interest (Ana de la Reguera’s Sister Encarnación) hovers between pious and desirable, the comedy sidekick (Héctor Jiménez’s skeletal Esquelto) is neither wise nor funny. Gags come and go without much set-up or follow-through. It’s all flat as a tortilla. Lingering pointlessly over the Kahlo-esque backgrounds and gargoyle-faced extras, Hess’s static handling proves pathologically unsuited to Black’s enthusiastic physicality, draining the life from the ringside action and reining in the star performer. Of course, seeing him in his clinging sky blue and burgundy get-up raises a smile, but it can’t carry an entire movie. Confoundingly underwhelming.