We loved Napoleon Dynamite, the independent hit and debut of writer and director Jared Hess. It had a very definite sense of place and characters that were quirky enough to elicit both laughs and sympathy. So it was a pleasure to hear that Hess is behind this comedy along with co-writer Mike White, who penned School of Rock, in which Jack Black played a substitute teacher who was both inspiring and outrageous.

Nacho Libre, based on a true story, is about a guy who cooks for friars and orphans by day at a Mexican monastery and dons a mask and jumps into a wrestling ring by night. This far-out fairy tale is essentially about a young man who doesn't fit in anywhere and yearns for some respect.

Ignacio (Jack Black) is a monk who serves in the lowly position of cook in a Mexican monastery. He is an unhappy camper since from the time he was a child, he has wanted to be a Lucha Libre wrestler. His mother was a Scandinavian missionary and his dad a Mexican deacon. When they died, he grew up an orphan. Now his fondest moments at the monastery are spent with the orphans who have nicknamed them Nacho. He's just like a kid most of the time.

Guillermo (Richard Montoya) is the monk who supervises Nacho. He is fed up with his inability to cook decent meals. Of course, it doesn't help that the chips he uses are leftovers donated by another establishment. One day while picking them up, Nacho is assaulted by Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), a skinny vagabond who is scrounging around for food.

Nacho decides to launch his secret dream at night, but since Lucha is viewed by the monastery elders as a sinful profession based on vanity and violence, he has to wear a mask to cover his identity. He picks Esqueleto as his wrestling partner. They lose their first match but get paid anyway. In Mexico, this sport is second only to soccer. It is viewed as a mini-morality play with the forces of good and evil in fierce combat. Nacho and Esqueleto keep losing in the ring, even to midgets and women.

Wanting to be a winner, Nacho follows the advice of a gypsy who tells him that he must learn the way of the eagle. But not even that works. The only one who can provide him with the inspiration and the prowess that he is seeking is the beautiful Sister Encarnacion (Ana De La Reguera) whose presence at the monastery sends Nacho into a state of delirium. But she thinks Lucha Libre is a sin unless it can be used to help the needy.

Nacho Libre is a larky movie that is propelled by the crazy energy and creativity of Jack Black who flies through the air wearing his stretchy wrestling pants, sings a few improvised songs, swoons over Sister Encarnacion, and yearns to become triumphant in the ring. Similar in spirit to Napoleon Dynamite, the film has a very specific and distinctive sense of place and is populated by endearing characters trying to measure up in a world where everything conspires against the oddball ever achieving his dream. Hess is a cinematic trickster, and this quirky movie will win you over with its visual flair and its delicious fairy-tale magic.


Special DVD features include a behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes; Nacho Libre comic book and Luchador mask creator.