By Dan Dunn
Special to the Daily Press

The movie: Nacho Libre
The director: Jared Hess
The stars: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez, Richard Montoya

While mulling over the many things I disliked about “Nacho Libre,” which stars Jack Black as a doughy Mexican doofus determined to realize a lifelong dream of becoming a Lucha Libre wrestler, all cognitive streams flowed to director Jared Hess, writer-director of the overrated 2004 comedy “Napoleon Dynamite.” So I went back and had a look at my review of Hess’ much-ballyhooed debut and realized that the primary problems with that film also hamper Hess’ latest.

To wit: “Napoleon Dynamite/Nacho Libre” like its eponymous protagonist is idiosyncratic, sometimes to the point of distraction. A lack of clear-cut narrative progressions induces stasis from time to time, and because the laughs come almost entirely at the expense of several inveterate dweebs, it all feels strangely masochistic. So there you have it, only “Nacho” is even LESS funny than “Napoleon.”

Playing a monastery cook leading a double life as a wrestler, Black tries hard (too hard?) to save the movie, baring his man boobs at every opportunity and utilizing a ridiculous (borderline offensive?) Latino accent whenever called upon to deliver a lame one-liner. His efforts fall short, however, and watching him ham it up to ill effect reminds that even the finest comedic actors (Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller) can get caught in a caricature trap from time to time. Some — Leslie Nielsen comes to mind — never escape, and here’s hoping Black rebounds in the upcoming “Tenacious D in ‘The Pick of Destiny.’” The key supporting players in “Nacho Libre” are Héctor Jiménez as Nacho’s goofy, effeminate tag team partner, and Mexican soap star Ana de la Reguera, whose sole purpose in this film seems to be to stand around looking like Penelope Cruz’s twin sister. The ending is predictable pap that raises questions for which, frustratingly, there are no answers. But one thing is perfectly clear — “Nacho Libre” gets knocked down early and never gets up off the mat.

(Rated PG.)