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"NACHO LIBRE" (2006) (Jack Black, Héctor Jiménez) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Mild Heavy *Minor Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy None None None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Minor Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Comedy: A Mexican orphanage cook moonlights at night as a wrestler in hopes of making a name for himself as well as money for the orphans under his care. PLOT: Nacho (JACK BLACK) has always dreamed of being a lucha libre wrestler, but having grown up as an orphan in a Mexican orphanage, he never got the chance. Now an adult, he's a bad cook at that same orphanage and draws the ire of monk Guillermo (RICHARD MONTOYA), but Nacho blames the poor quality on the lack of fresh ingredients. After a wiry and nimble thief, Esqueleto (HÉCTOR JIMÉNEZ), steals his bag of chips, Nacho comes up with an idea. If the two team up and enter a wrestling match, they might be able to win enough money to buy good food for the kids as well as satisfy Nacho's lifelong obsession with the sport. Accordingly, he starts moonlighting as a masked wrestler, and although he and Esqueleto don't ever win, they make enough consolation money to meet their needs. Of course, they must keep their activity secret from Sister Encarnación (ANA DE LA REGUERA), a pretty and young nun who's recently arrived at the orphanage and has set Nacho's heart aflutter. As he and Esqueleto continue on their quest, they must contend with possibly challenging pro wrestling champion Ramses (CESAR GONZALEZ) and his equally tough manager Señor Ramon (ENRIQUE MUÑOZ). WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? It's a good bet some will, particularly if they're fans of Black and/or the wrestling material. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JACK BLACK plays a cook at the orphanage where he grew up as an orphan. Desirous of something more both for himself and the food he feeds the kids, he decides to moonlight as a wrestler in hopes of making money and gaining fame for himself. He does all sorts of exaggerated things that some kids may want to imitate. HÉCTOR JIMÉNEZ plays a wiry and nimble thief who becomes his unlikely wrestling partner and often takes a beating in the ring. ANA DE LA REGUERA plays the pretty and young nun who arrives at the orphanage, drawing Nacho's attention but conflicts him since she's against wrestling and all for which it stands. RICHARD MONTOYA plays an orphanage monk who has a bad attitude toward Nacho. CESAR GONZALEZ plays a professional wrestling champion who won't give Nacho (the orphanage worker) the time of day or sign autographs for the orphans. ENRIQUE MUÑOZ plays his tough manager who likewise doesn't have time for or interest in them. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG. Profanity consists of one minor expletive, while colorful phrases and some non-explicit, sexually related dialogue are also present. Various male wrestlers are seen shirtless and/or in small/tight wrestling shorts, some cleavage is observed and a man flexes his covered butt cheeks to try to impress a woman. All sorts of potentially imitative behavior is present, including plenty of hard-hitting wrestling material (punching, kicking, slamming, etc.). Other such contact occurs out of the ring, as does some slapstick material, but it's all played for laughs (including when a man's robe completely catches on fire and he runs outside that way). That said, some of that material could be intense for younger viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, some crude humor is present as is brief drinking, and there are thematic elements such as those involving talk of orphans and vows of celibacy. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Ramses and his manager have wine, with Ramses throwing his glass of it onto Nacho when he realizes he's an imposter in the party band. BLOOD/GORE Crude humor includes the following: Adversely reacting to the taste of his own food, Nacho inadvertently snorts it out of his nose and then wipes that across his face. About Nacho's cooking, Guillermo says he's had diarrhea since Easter. As Nacho prepares to leap on Esqueleto (for earlier stealing his chips), he accidentally lets out a fart. While practicing to be wrestling partners, Nacho puts his hand into a large, wet pile of dung and then spreads that on Esqueleto's face. On several occasions, we hear Nacho flushing a toilet and then coming out of the bathroom stalls. Esqueleto has some long, gross-looking toenails. We see a severed pig's head and leg in a meat market. Nacho climbs up a sheer cliff to get an eagle egg. Once at the nest, he breaks open the egg and pours the thick yolk into his mouth and all over his face, nearly getting sick from the taste (he farts and then falls into the sea below him, but is okay). A thug flattens the tires on Nacho's scooter with a switchblade. Esqueleto then throws his corn on the cob on a stick at a second thug (we see it sticking out of his eye socket, but with no blood). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE All of the following is played for laughs. Some viewers may be offended by the comedic stereotypes in the film (specifically of Mexicans). Various wrestlers deliver cheap shots to their opponents. Esqueleto grabs Nacho's chips for the orphans and the two struggle over them, but later become partners in wrestling. Ramses opens his car door into someone and doesn't care or notice. Guillermo has a bad attitude toward Nacho. Some viewers might not like when Esqueleto says he believes in science rather than God, but late in the film he says a prayer for Nacho's upcoming match. After Nacho asks Ramses if he could sign some autographs for the orphans, Ramses first ignores Nacho and then pushes him down into a cart and to the street. Ramses and his manager have wine, with Ramses throwing his glass of it onto Nacho when he realizes he's an imposter in the party band. Ramon refers to Esqueleto as "horse face." A thug flattens the tires on Nacho's scooter with a switchblade. Esqueleto says he hates orphans, but later has changed his mind. Esqueleto complains to Nacho that they never win because Nacho is fat. Some viewers might not like an obese woman played as an object of comedic derision (for Esqueleto wanting to get away from her when she demonstrates she's attracted to him). FRIGHTENING SCENES Some of the occasionally rough violence in the ring could be unsettling for the youngest of kids, but probably not to anyone else. Nacho thinks an old man is dead (and places coins on his eyes and some material across his face -- thus possibly unnerving viewers sensitive to such sights), but it turns out he's wrong (and that's played for laughs). Two small, furry, man beast type wrestlers may be a little scary looking to very young viewers. A candle sets Nacho's robe on fire and he races outside with large flames around him before rolling on the ground (played for laughs). GUNS/WEAPONS A thug flattens the tires on Nacho's scooter with a switchblade. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Let's get down to the nitty gritty," "A boatload of crap about the Gospel," "A couple of wusses," "When you're a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants," "Yeah, right," "It was stinky," "I'm not listening to you," "You're crazy," "Pretty darn exciting," "Floozy," "He's a real douche," "Earth to Steven," "We never win because you're fat," "I had a lot of churchy opportunities" and "Roll, you fool" (said to Nacho whose robe is on fire). Nacho's various antics, facial expressions and exaggerated Mexican accent may be enticing for some kids to imitate, which also holds true for all of the wrestling action. Young Nacho does an elbow drop type move onto a basket of chips while upset. While practicing to be wrestling partners, Esqueleto fires a cantaloupe via a large slingshot type contraption, with the fruit smacking into Nacho's chest and knocking him down. Nacho then fires a blunt-tip arrow into Esqueleto's back (it bounces off him). Then, Nacho throws a large beehive at Esqueleto, hitting him and causing the bees to fly out and sting Esqueleto. While practicing to be wrestling partners, Nacho puts his hand into a large, wet pile of dung and then spreads that on Esqueleto's face. Nacho tears open his shirt during a wrestling match. Trying to impress Sister Encarnación, Nacho crushes a handful of chips in his hand and then blows them out onto the food he's served her. Nacho pulls out tablecloths and other such material from under various objects at various times in the film. As part of their training, Nacho suddenly puts a bowl of water in front of Esqueleto and then pushes Esqueleto's face down into it. Trying to impress Sister Encarnación, Nacho leans up against a wall in his tight pants and then flexes his covered butt cheeks together (and says his robe "was stinky" when Sister Encarnación asks him why he's not wearing it). Ramon refers to Esqueleto as "horse face." Nacho lets out a long and exaggerated beat of "Nachooooooo..." Nacho sings the song he's written for Sister Encarnación to Esqueleto, ending one line with "grass" and then saying, "I used by hand to wipe my...tears." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 crap. SEX/NUDITY We see young Nacho shirtless. We see some miscellaneous cleavage. Throughout the film, there are various views of Nacho, Esqueleto and other men being shirtless in and out of the wrestling ring. We see Esqueleto shirtless, with his pants riding quite low (seen from the front, but nothing explicit). We see Esqueleto in some small, tight wrestling shorts. Sarcastically commenting about his life at the orphanage (to Sister Encarnación), Nacho says that he gets to lay in his bed, all by himself for the rest of his life. Trying to impress Sister Encarnación, Nacho leans up against a wall in his tight pants and then flexes his covered butt cheeks together (and says his robe "was stinky" when Sister Encarnación asks him why he's not wearing it). When Sister Encarnación asks if she can come into Nacho's room (for platonic reasons), Nacho doesn't want her to (since Esqueleto is there and they're headed out for a party), but says it's because people might get the wrong idea "like maybe you're a floozy." A large woman likes Esqueleto (who's embarrassed by the attention) and suggestively says that some say that lovers save themselves for the (wrestling) ring. Nacho tells Sister Encarnación (in a letter) that if they hadn't taken their vows of celibacy, they could have gotten married and had kids. Nacho sings the song he's written for Sister Encarnación to Esqueleto, with a line about breaking their vows (possible regarding celibacy) together. Some models with Ramses show cleavage. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Nacho mentions his parents failing to convert each other and instead getting married, adding that they died right after that (played for comedy on the part of the film). All of the kids at the orphanage are orphans, but we don't know their individual circumstances. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Orphanages and orphans. Wrestling. Vows of celibacy. The fact that Nacho covets what he thinks is the respect the professional wrestlers get. Sister Encarnación stating that wrestling is ungodly, in that the wrestlers are false idols and doing so for all of the wrong reasons. Sister Encarnación tells Nacho that if wrestles for something noble or for someone who needs help, it's permitted. VIOLENCE All of the following is played for laughs. Guillermo smacks Nacho on the face. Nacho inadvertently flies off his scooter when it briefly goes airborne (he lands hard, but is okay). Esqueleto grabs Nacho's chips for the orphans and the two struggle over them, with Nacho hitting him with the bag, Esqueleto flipping Nacho over into the cart on the front of his scooter, Esqueleto slapping Nacho and more. Ramses opens his car door into someone and doesn't care or notice. Nacho leaps on Esqueleto (for earlier stealing his chips), tackling him to the ground where he punches him. The two then struggle, with Nacho grabbing Esqueleto's hair and then having Esqueleto in a headlock until the latter bites the former's arm. More contact occurs, including Nacho tackling Esqueleto again, Esqueleto kicking Nacho in the gut, as well as Esqueleto pushing Nacho up against a wall. While practicing to be wrestling partners, Esqueleto fires a cantaloupe via a large slingshot type contraption, with the fruit smacking into Nacho's chest and knocking him down. Nacho then fires a blunt-tip arrow into Esqueleto's back (it bounces off him). Moments later, we see (from a distance) a bull flip Nacho up into the air in its pen. Then, Nacho throws a large beehive at Esqueleto, hitting him and causing the bees to fly out and sting Esqueleto. During a match, an opponent clotheslines Esqueleto to the mat (hitting him in the throat quite hard), throws him down to that again, and then yanks out a fistful of hair. Nacho wrestles a guy with hard contact (punches, squeezes, etc.) occurring between them, ending with the opponent doing a flying kick to Nacho's back. Nacho hits Esqueleto hard on the back. Two small, furry, man beast type wrestlers take on Nacho and Esqueleto in the ring, with the former initially having the upper hand and beating up the two guys (with various blows, kicks, etc.). Both of the smaller wrestlers and Nacho end up being thrown out of the ring, with one also biting a chunk of hair from Esqueleto's head. One of the orphan boys imitates Nacho and has another orphan up over his neck, spinning him around. Thinking he's interacting with some confederates (who are supposed to look tough but allow Nacho to beat them up to impress Sister Encarnación), Nacho mistakes two strangers for them. Accordingly, he rips the back of one of their jackets, prompting that man to punch Nacho in the face. Esqueleto does a chokehold on Nacho. Nacho falls a long way into the sea below him, but is okay. There's additional rough wrestling violence, including both Nacho and Esqueleto being bent backwards, Esqueleto getting kicked in the crotch, both opponents jumping and landing on the guys, and the opponents hitting Nacho with their belts (and they then do the same to Esqueleto). After Nacho asks Ramses if he could sign some autographs for the orphans, Ramses first ignores Nacho and then pushes him down into a cart and to the street. Esqueleto accidentally breaks a small doll's face. Trying to save Esqueleto from a large woman who's trying to pull him back through a hole in the wall, Nacho tries to hit the woman with a guitar, but accidentally smashes it onto Esqueleto's back. A thug flattens the tires on Nacho's scooter with a switchblade. Esqueleto then throws his corn on the cob on a stick at a second thug (we see it sticking out of his eye socket, but with no blood). Esqueleto and Nacho struggle, with Nacho smacking Esqueleto. A candle sets Nacho's robe on fire and he races outside with large flames around him before rolling on the ground (played for laughs). Nacho and Esqueleto simultaneously battle a number of other wrestlers in the ring, with all sorts of punching, kicking and chair bashing occurring. We also see a head-butt, a kick to a crotch, a back dropped onto a knee, and a big guy spinning around both Esqueleto and another wrestler before letting them fly. Nacho then battles that last wrestler, but gets roughed up, including being pile driven into the mat. We see a flashback to Esqueleto running Nacho's scooter over a wrestler's foot when that man struggles with a boy over something. There's hard contact in a wrestling match between Nacho and Ramses (including punching, kicking, slamming, etc.). When Ramses delivers a cheap shot to Nacho in a round break, Esqueleto slaps him, with Ramses then punching Esqueleto off the ring. Nacho grabs Ramses costume underwear and pulls it up over his head (for a "wedgie"). Ramses then punches Nacho, knees him in the face and then has his foot to his neck. Getting inspiration from Sister Encarnación, Nacho then throws him off and then out of the ring. He then takes a flying leap and lands on Ramses outside the ring where he pins him to the floor. Reviewed June 14, 2006 / Posted June 16, 2006

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