Nacho Libre (2006)

All Critics (174) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (98) | DVD (27)

Imagine my disappointment then, which grew to disbelief, which turned into utter disdain, by the time the credits rolled on this clunker.

June 19, 2006 Full Review

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

Nacho Libre, naïvely made kids' stuff, lacks such minor attributes as a decent script and supporting cast.

June 19, 2006

David Denby

New Yorker

Top Critic

Nacho Libre strikes a delicate balance of whimsy and absurdity that may surprise auds primed to expect wall-to-wall slapstick.

June 16, 2006 Full Review

Joe Leydon

Variety

Top Critic

The film's sheer lack of everything that customarily passes for comic fuel -- energy, wit, character, fun, a plot -- renders Nacho Libre a torturous patience tester of the first order.

June 16, 2006 Full Review

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Some things work well, but many are strained in execution. There are times Nacho Libre looks like it's struggling to find a reason to continue.

June 16, 2006 Full Review

Tom Keogh

Seattle Times

Top Critic

The comedy is hit and miss, with good bits interrupted by dead patches.

June 16, 2006 Full Review

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

In a season of smug, telegraphed quirkiness (hello, Little Miss Sunshine), the rambling Nacho Libre, like director Jared Hess' previous Napoleon Dynamite, feels like an original.

November 7, 2012 Full Review

Luke Goodsell

Empire Magazine Australasia

A sweet, offbeat movie about caring for others.

January 1, 2011 Full Review

Jane Boursaw

Common Sense Media

Makes you stare first in bemusement, then in boredom, finally in slight nausea

August 30, 2009 Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Hess has the most languid sense of comic timing since Bill Murray at his peak.

August 25, 2008 Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

Nacho Libre merely provides some momentary pleasant diversions.

February 28, 2008 Full Review

Brandon Fibbs

BrandonFibbs.com

Any production featuring Jack Black in spandex and showing off his belly full of stretch marks should never have made it off the drawing board in the first place.

April 9, 2007 Full Review

Kam Williams

DallasBlack.com

Director Jared Hess' weapon of choice is his innocence.

March 15, 2007 Full Review

Mark Palermo

Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Physical violence, silliness and gross-out moments (suspect gooey substances flow frequently) abound, but Nacho Libre is not without its occasional charms.

March 1, 2007 Full Review

Doris Toumarkine

Film Journal International

Gives you more reason than ever to love Black's death scene in 1997's The Jackal.

January 1, 2007 Full Review | Comment (1)

Chuck O'Leary

FulvueDrive-in.com

A film with a steady stream of laughter enclosed is a great cure for those with the "World Cup" blues.

December 13, 2006 Full Review

Michael A. Smith

Nolan's Pop Culture Review

There's a fine line between funny and stupid, and director Jared Hess can't find it.

October 9, 2006 Full Review

Forrest Hartman

Reno Gazette-Journal

This is all about Jack Black being Jack Black, funny and well-conceived wrestling action, and catch-you-off-guard comedy. Nacho has all of those things in a headlock.

September 27, 2006 Full Review | Comment (1)

Todd Hertz

Christianity Today

Puts another monkey on Jack Black's back, but this time it isn't several stories tall, it doesn't have a thing for blondes and it doesn't famously destroy New York real estate. In this case, it's the script.

September 9, 2006 Full Review

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

It's more outrageous than hilarious, yet Nacho Libre has the same kind of sweet poignancy its filmmaker Jared Hess brought to his 2004 cult hit Napoleon Dynamite.

September 8, 2006 Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

Nacho typical comedy

August 21, 2006 Full Review

Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel

3BlackChicks Review

Nacho Libre a le mérite d'être une comédie désopilante faisant rire son public par des élans somme toute forts singuliers, mais inspirés, à défaut d'être très subtils

August 18, 2006 Full Review

Jean-François Vandeuren

Panorama

Beyond its sight gags and kitschy camp appeal, 'Nacho Libre' is a comedy that earns its underdog ambitions.

August 14, 2006 Full Review

Bruce Bennett

Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Basically, if you're not already chuckling at the thought of Jack Black wearing a Mexican wrestler's outfit and speaking in a thick Spanish accent then Nacho Libre probably isn't the film for you.

August 10, 2006 Full Review

Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Nacho Libre is all it needs to be--ridiculous from beginning to end.

July 26, 2006 Full Review

Alan Dale

Blogcritics.org

Easily the best studio confection of the year... kicking ***, taking names, and reminding us all of the joy that going to a big summer movie is supposed to inspire in us.

July 11, 2006 Full Review | Comment (1)

David Poland

Movie City News

• 1. Ignacio 'Nacho Libre': Jesse, I owe you 4.99 plus tax.
  – Submitted by Jesse K (48 days ago)
• 1. Ignacio 'Nacho Libre': Me? No. Come on. Don't be crazy. I know the wrestlers get all the fancy ladies, and the clothes, and the fancy creams and lotions. But my life is good! Really good! I get to wake up every morning, at 5AM, and make some soup! It's the best. I love it. I get to lay in a bed, all by myself, all of my life! That's fantastic! Go. Go away! Read some books!
  – Submitted by Stephen A (5 months ago)
• 1. Ignacio 'Nacho Libre': But Sister, they are just ninos trying to release their wiggles.
  – Submitted by Stephen A (5 months ago)
• 1. Ignacio 'Nacho Libre': Would you like to join me in my quarters this evening... for some toast.
  – Submitted by Eddie S (8 months ago)
• 1. Ignacio 'Nacho Libre': Where are the cheeps?
  – Submitted by Simon O (10 months ago)
• 1. Elderly Monk: This is the worst lunch I ever had.
  2. Monk: Do you not realize I have had diarrhea since Easters?!
  – Submitted by Tim L (11 months ago)