'Be Kind Rewind' inspires laughs, imagination
By Rachel Hanes, Staff Writer
February 27, 2008 | 10:27 p.m.
For some, being the star of a popular movie is a dream. For the characters of “Be Kind Rewind,” however, it is a low-budget reality. This creative comedy about friendship, community and blockbuster remakes is as humorous as it is heartfelt. It is the newest film to come from director Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), who is known for making visually and cognitively stunning films, and “Be Kind Rewind” is no exception.
Mos Def (“Monster’s Ball”) and Jack Black (“Orange County”) star as Mike and Jerry, two pseudo-friends who find themselves in an awkward position. Mike works at the belly-up local VHS rental store, Be Kind Rewind, run by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover, “The Royal Tennenbaums”). While Mr. Fletcher is off trying to save his dying store, he leaves the responsibility of Be Kind Rewind in the hands of Mike and specifically asks him to keep Jerry away from the store, as he is known to destroy everything he touches.
While trying to run a coup on the local power plant, Jerry finds himself unnaturally magnetized. He manages to crash Be Kind Rewind and, after coming into contact with all the videotapes, erases virtually everything in the store. In order to keep the store running and earn money to save it from destruction, Mike and Jerry must remake every video in stock with only a home video camera and their imagination. Soon enough, the “sweded” videos, or homemade remakes, become the most popular thing to hit Passaic, New Jersey.
Mike and Jerry’s “sweded” videos are some of the funniest ever made. Their remakes of movies like “Robocop,” “Rush Hour 2,” and “Boyz N the Hood” are gold. One could only hope to rent their 20-minute version of “Ghostbusters” from the local Blockbuster. The glimpses of their would-be videos are the most exciting part of the movie. Jack Black as the annoying Daisy Wertham, from “Driving Miss Daisy,” or any of his other roles that are featured in the Be Kind Rewind shop, are hysterical.
As funny as “Be Kind Rewind” may be, it is, above all, an aesthetic and lovable film. Gondry has a talent for visuals in his films, and his abilities for this are ever present in his newest presentation. Everything looks homegrown and very real, though much of the film is above and beyond realistic ability. He also has a way of making his films human and endearing, like the way Mike and Jerry make their films creative and endearing to watch.
The chemistry that lies between Mos Def and Jack Black is something to be admired. The comedic chemistry is so poignant that it seems like these two were destined to work together. Black plays his signature clumsy-smart-ass-with-a–heart character, and Mos Def is such a great counterweight that Black never overwhelms the movie with his run-of-the-mill comedic routine. Mos Def is the real scene-stealer. He plays Mike with such hesitance and vulnerability that one cannot help but love and laugh at his attempts to let loose and just “swede” from his heart.
The film ends with an invite for viewers to visit the ”Be Kind Rewind” Web site. With one trip to the site, one can see that the same amount of creativity and imagination that went into the feature and its “sweded” counterparts was also invested into the movie’s official page. Surfers are taken onto the site that is the “sweded” version of the Internet, where everything on site is “sweded” by Mike and Jerry.
Type in something on the “sweded” Google page and a list of remade sites will appear. From Dictionary.com to Google Earth, the “sweded” possibilities are endless. One can visit the character’s “MyFaces” or read about the “sweded” films on the homemade Internet Movie Database. There is also a crafted rendition of YouTube where one can see Mike and Jerry’s videos and Gondry’s “sweded” trailer. The site, as well as the movie, is original and is certainly something to see.
Gondry’s film is full of heart and crammed with hysterics. The director and his crew deliver wonderfully and manage to leave viewers with an ending that is so sweet that it could give one a toothache, but never crosses the line into mushy overkill. “Be Kind Rewind” makes it easy to see why “sweding” with friends could be so much fun.
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"Be Kind Rewind"
Speakeasy Rating: A
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references
Genre: Comedy