Nacho Libre 06/20/06

:fresh: I almost didn't see this movie. After waiting on the edge of my seat for it's release for the past two months, my heart sunk at the sight of the reviews. Roger Ebert didn't find it especially funny and the Tomatoemeter listed it at 37%.. This movie, starring Jack Black has a mexican monk/luchador, had been shelved as pure rotten. NOOOOOOOOO, it had looked so freakin funny. Anyway like I said I almost didn't see it because of the percieved dissapointment.
Which takes me to my next point. Critics should be a little more careful when they review comedies like this. Film criticism by its nature takes film seriously. That becomes a problem when the movie's creators doesn't take the movie seriously. Giving stars to this movie is like taking score in a game of CalvinBall. It's almost near pointless. Anyway I thought this was a good film, I really really liked it. And I'm not just saying that because I liked Napolean Dynamite because I didn't really like Napolean Dynamite, but this one made me laugh and that's all I asked for. I don't know what the hell Ebert was thinking. maybe he's getting old.
I'm getting off track. Good performances all around, good writing from Mike White. But the thing that makes this movie is the continued style of it's director (don't know his name). What really shines through is his self-confidence in the story and the way he handles it. Other directors might for a moment feel awkwardly about some of the jokes and characters in this story, but this one doesn't seem to know the difference or care if in the case that he does. He dislikes closeups, moves the story really fast, tends towards slapstick and loves filming the actors in front of large vistas whether they are needed or not. Jack Black has as good a Mexican accent in this movie as Al Pacino had a cuban accent in Scarface. Both are exaggerated completely, this one to great comedic effect. At other times he ceases to be Nacho and becomes Jack Black as when he starts singing. These scenes work because Mike White knows how to write for Jack. Jack knows how to bring the goods, and the director didn't seem to care whether anyone would actually get it or not. Because whoever directed this movie did things his way, it probably won't work for everyone I suppose. It will be dear to the heart of some and scorned indifferently by the rest. But don't I feel special that I'm one of the few that "gets it."