NACHO ES CALIENTE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

Jack Black dons tights and a cape to play a lucha libre wrestler in ``Nacho Libre,'' a goofy PG-rated comedy from the guy who made ``Napoleon Dynamite.''

The movie, made under the Nickelodeon banner, contains plenty of intestinal-related humor and silly sight gags that will please the kids, but it's really a sweet underdog story set in the preposterous world of Mexican wrestling.

In other words: Grown-ups will have fun, too.

``It's funny, but it's not mainstream, that's for sure,'' Black, 36, says of the movie, directed by Jared Hess and written by Hess; his wife, Jerusha; and Mike White (``School of Rock''). ``I just remember seeing `Napoleon Dynamite' and thinking, `I want to work with the guy who could think up something like that.'''

Hess shot ``Nacho Libre'' entirely in Mexico, using locals in supporting roles, as extras and as the luchadores who get into the ring with Black. The movie is loosely based on the life of a real-life Mexican priest who, for more than 20 years, wrestled as Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm).

``It was a perfect role for Jack because he got to play on his manic side in the ring and his innate sweetness in his scenes with the kids,'' Hess says. ``He's a complicated man, that Jack Black. But he's a real good one.''

We sat down with a sans-tights Black -- who, with wife Tanya Haden, welcomed a newborn son, the couple's first child, Saturday -- to talk about his wrestling repertoire, becoming friends with his ``stretchy pants'' and why there is no wrath like ``The Wrath of Khan.''

Q: You did most of your own wrestling in the movie. Did you develop any signature moves?

A: I did bring some to the table, yeah. The Anaconda Squeeze is mine.

Q: The Anaconda Squeeze?

A: First you see me coming at you at top speed -- that's scary already. But then I leap into the air and pounce on you, and before you know it, I've got you wrapped up -- and I'm squeezing you with my legs and arms. And I'm saying, ``A-na-con-da squeeeeeze!'' And that's the last thing you hear before you lose consciousness.

Q: And on the off chance that the Anaconda Squeeze doesn't work?

A: Then I go to what I call the Wind of the Lion, which is a submission hold in which I get you on the ground and I just need to get my butt anywhere near your face. And I release the Wind ... of the Liiiiion!

Q: I'm guessing that's another one where the victim loses consciousness.

A: No one so far has been able to withstand it.

Q: Does the wind grow stronger after consuming all those corn-on-a-stick treats we see you eating throughout the movie?

A: Elotes? (Laughs) Yes. A steady diet of elotes helps. You want to have something spicy. That drives the wind.

Q: I imagine a steady diet of elotes also helps keep you in fighting form.

A: Well the great thing about luchadores is that they aren't the rock-hard-body types. So, yeah, I ate tons of elotes. People smother them in mayo and butter, but I would go light on that. But Oaxaca ... the food will keep you fat. And fat is funny.

Q: I noticed. There's no shame involved in your performance.

Those stretchy pants leave little to the imagination.

A: They cling to every crevice and cranny. But I wore tights in a play I did in high school -- ``Pippin.'' Tights and little dance shoes.

Q: So you didn't lose any sleep over Nacho's costume?

A: I wouldn't say that. I remember being in the trailer before my first scene with the costume, and I didn't want to go out there. I felt so ridiculous. ``They're gonna be looking at me!'' But then I thought about it: ``When I see other people in humiliating situations, it's hilarious. I'm humiliated. It's gonna be hilarious.''

Q: It's all in the attitude.

A: You've got to wrap your mind around it. And once I made that mental adjustment, I went out there with my chest puffed out. The stretchy pants became my friends. I loved them.

Q: Your self-consciousness runs contrary to the assumption that guys like you will do anything for a laugh and that there's no insecurity involved.

A: That's not true. There's a lot of self-consciousness and insecurity. But guys like me hunger for the laughs so much that it overpowers the fear.

Q: You have an ability with the Spanish language that's almost musical. I understand Ricardo Montalban was something of an inspiration.

A: I loved him in ``The Wrath of Khan.'' If all you knew of him was ``Fantasy Island,'' then that movie was a revelation, especially to a 15-year-old like me. But Montalban only surfaces in my accent when it gets really dramatic, and Nacho has to show them confidence and gravitas. It's all in the attitude. What was that line he did in ``Khan''? ``Yeeees. Revenge is a deesh best served cold. And it is very cold in outer spaaaace.''

Q: Did the Montalban come out when you were wrestling the brutes like Ramses and Silencio?

A: Given the size of those guys, no. Even Montalban wouldn't have helped.

Q: What about the midgets?

A: Satan's Helpers? Scary things come in small packages. They were biters. And you had to be careful of the privates. That's all I'm saying there.

Q: Anyone who really struck fear into your heart?

A: There's this one dude, an Indian wrestler. He whipped me with a belt. He's, like, 64 years old, but there was something about his eyes. It was like looking into a dark tunnel. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen with him.

Q: Jared says he didn't know, either.

A: Wow. I'm glad I didn't know that when I was making the movie. He had cold, dead eyes. I'm not even sure the Wind of the Lion would have an effect on him.

Q: What historical figure would you like to wrestle?

A: Napoleon. I think I could take him. But also, I have my own Napoleon complex, and I feel that if I could beat Napoleon in the ring, I could finally overcome that. Now you might say, ``Sure, Napoleon,'' but it wouldn't be as easy as it sounds because, although he's small, he's one of the most brilliant strategical minds in the history of war. So I wouldn't take him lightly.

Q: Any of the real luchadores inspire you when you went to the lucha libre?

A: In Mexico, I was standing next to (co-star) Ana de la Reguera, and this one dude, this wrestler named Zorro, came out into the audience and gave her a rose. It was very dramatic -- and hilarious. He fought the fight for her.

Q: Did he win?

A: No, he did not. But it didn't matter. It was all about the love, man.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

[e-mail]

Flipping for lucha libre

`Researching'' the title role of Mexican wrestler Nacho Libre, Jack Black went to three lucha libre events, including Lucha VaVoom in Los Angeles.

``It was better than a rock concert,'' Black says. ``They were definitely rocking me and had me legitimately cheering for the characters. One second I'd be laughing at a move or a character, and the next second I'd be, like, `Holy crap! Did you see that flip into the audience?' ''

Lucha libre is a longtime fixture of Mexican pop culture, beginning in the 1930s when a promoter brought American wrestlers south of the border. The wearing of masks came about to distinguish the combatants, but eventually it became a source of pride and a way to hide the identity of the luchadore. Over the years the masks have become more colorful. Losers once were unmasked, but today it's illegal to completely rip off an opponent's mask.

The spectacle has won its fair share of admirers north of the border as well. Another edition of Lucha VaVoom is starting Tuesday for three nights at the Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, featuring all the sport's hallmarks -- intense theatricality, flashy masks and capes, high-flying midget wrestlers and burlesque acts like the Wau Wau Sisters (``they can mix martinis in a handstand'').

``Lucha libre is one of the most outrageous, bizarre and fun things, and when you experience a match live, it's one of the most politically incorrect things you'll ever see,'' says ``Nacho Libre'' director Jared Hess. ``It's old grannies shouting obscenities at the wrestlers they hate -- and the wrestlers yell back at them. In a way, it's very therapeutic.''

Though the lucha libres in Southern California tend to be a bit tamer than their Mexican counterparts, the spirit remains the same.

Interested in checking it out? Go to www.luchavavoom.com. The Mayan Theatre is at 1038 S. Hill St. Tickets are $25 to 40. Call [phone] or go online to ticketweb.com.

-- G.W.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) NACHO ES MAS MACHO

Jack Black on Mexican wrestling, wearing tights, fatherhood and his new movies, `Nacho Libre'

(2) no caption (Jack Black as `Nacho Libre')

(3) Lucha Libre fighter Brazo de Plata flies from the top rope as he prepares to flatten two rivals during a match at the historic Arena Coliseo in Mexico City.

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Box:

Flipping for lucha libre (see text)