Be Kind Rewind
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Movie Reviews of Be Kind Rewind
Movie Review: Be Kind Rewind
Summary: 4 Stars
When Elroy Fletcher(Danny Glover), owner of Be Kind Rewind video rental store, goes out of town he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge with one rule: Keep Jerry (Jack Black) Out! But when Jerry becomes magnetized trying to sabotage the local electric plant he makes his way into the video store and erases all the video tapes in the store. Finding that none of the local video stores carry video tapes having switched to the more popular DVD, and with customers threatening to call Elroy, Mike and Jerry take matters into their own hands and start recording their own versions of popular movies. Claiming that the versions are imported versions of films from Sweden, their "Sweded" films become popular amongst the citizens of Passaic, New Jersey.
French director Michel Gondry is a very unique director, taking a look at his 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and you can see that this isn't your average director. Having amassed a body of work that doesn't just stop at film (he played the drums on Kanye West's Diamonds From Sierra Leone) Michel Gondry has become something of an underground sensation. He created effects that would eventually be used in high profile films such as The Matrix, and was the first to use morphing technics in a video clip. Put him together with rap phenom, as well as Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Mos Def and rock star/ comedian Jack Black and what do you get?...
A great and heartfelt movie that's a love letter to film, an ode to the classic DIY spirit, and a reminder of the importance of history and the ability to change it and make it our own. Written by Michel Gondry based on an idea he got from directing Dave Chappelle's Bloc Party, Be Kind Rewind is a movie that mixes heart with comedy in a fashion that never seems schmaltzy and is very original. And the atmosphere of the movie is infectious, as the duo begin inviting others to help in making the "Sweded" videos you feel drawn in as if you're part of the process. This movie has also sparked something of a revolution, look up Sweded on Youtube and you can find other people Sweded versions of movie and movie trailers.
With actors like Danny Glover and Jack Black you expect a mixture of good acting and well played out comedy in this movie, and in casting Mos Def and Jack Black the casting directors definitely made the right choice. Jack Black is of course Jack Black, which doesn't always work in every role he plays, but here he understates slightly, dialing down his tendencies to overact on occasion. Mos Def, as always, proves masterful playing the straight man to Jack Black's crazy, perfectly filling out the bromance. Of course, you can never count out Danny Glover who is the most tortured soul in the movie as a man set in his ways realizing that he has to change with the times if he wants to keep his business, and he greatly excels at making you feel and understand the emotions of the character.
If the movie fails in one thing, it's at the very beginning. The set up for the grand scheme of the plot is not very well thought out, and a little awkwardly executed. While on paper the idea of Jack Black's character becoming magnetized and demagnetizing every movie in a video store looks great on paper (and does make for a few hilariously great slapstick moments), the execution of him becoming magnetized is even a little too quirky for this quirky comedy and throws off the pacing for a few moments near the early parts of the movie. Gondry quickly gets back on track though, but at the same time the movie feels a little cramped with everything he's trying to throw at you. The movie is filled with a lot of great ideas, and at times it can feel a little cramped with everything that's been put in there.
All in all, I would highly recommend the movie, and this is definitely a movie that takes more than one viewing to fully appreciate it. At a time when everything being cranked out of Hollywood is either a remake, adaptation, or a sequel this ode to originality is definitely a breath of fresh air.
4/5
Movie Review: Get Sweded
Summary: 4 Stars
VHS is pretty much dead now, but it has one characteristic that "Be Kind Rewind" revolves around: expose it to magnetism, and it dies.
So you can probably guess what happens in Michel Gondry's fourth movie, and his first foray into all-out comedy. It has some plot holes and a rather bizarre premise, but there's a warm, funny little heart buried in the kooky antics and wild remakes of every movie from "Ghostbusters" to "Lord of the Rings."
Be Kind Rewind is an ancient video store, and supposedly the birthplace of unknown jazz legend Fats Waller. It's also due to be razed for a new block of condos -- so store owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) goes on a scouting trip for a week, leaving his conscientious clerk Mike (Mos Def) in charge.
Unfortunately local weirdo Jerry (Jack Black) tries to destroy a local power plant, because he believes it's controlling his brain. Instead he gets fried, and his body becomes a walking electromagnet -- which they only discover after he's wandered through the store, erasing all the old tapes. Even worse, a regular customer (Mia Farrow) wants "Ghostbusters" by that evening.
So Mike and Jerry hurriedly shoot their OWN version of the movie, with the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz) and soon they find that their "Sweded" movies have a growing fanbase, and they are statewide celebrities. But the demolition deadline is approaching, and Hollywood lawyers are threatening them for copyright infringement -- will the town's new devotion to these quirky "Sweding" moviemakers help them stay?
Michel Gondry's movies are always set in "real life," but with a few drops of the unreal -- memory erasure, waking surrealist dreams, that kind of thing. And even though "Be Kind Rewind" is set in a grimy, shabby New Jersey town, it has the same delightfully unreal quality -- it's a genial buddy comedy where literally anything can happen.
I'll admit, there are some moments that don't entirely work. Note the awkward "this town is a swamp" exchange, and we're expected to allow the plot holes to slide (where did the infringement lawyers go?). And that whole magnetized body fluids thing was just gross.
But despite its flaws, it's somehow a very lovable movie. It's crammed with physical and verbal comedy ("Iloveyou Iloveyou we'relovers kissme!"), ranging from amateur train hijacks to an inept break-in at a DVD rental store. And a merely entertaining movie becomes sidesplitting when our heroes start shooting a ghastly no-budget "Ghostbusters" with fishing rods, tinsel, and bags of goo. This is followed by "Robocop," "2001," "Rush Hour 2," "Driving Miss Daisy" and several others -- all with no budget, borrowed costumes, cardboard sets, and a cast of rank amateurs.
Gondry is obviously having a roaring good time lampooning Hollywood blockbusters. But he also injects some deeper currents into what could have been a one-joke movie -- there's a bittersweet subplot about the possibility of losing the store that has brought a community together. Yeah, it's supposed to tug at the heartstrings, but it really does work -- particularly since the movie rental industry is going belly-up.
One particularly nice touch is that the movie ends -- and is punctuated by -- scenes of a very low-budget, old-looking biopic of Fats Waller. Initially it just seems like another conceit, but it turns out to be very important to the plot.
Black is a delight as the insane Jerry, brimming with manic energy -- in one scene, he encases himself in aluminum foil. Mos Def's Mike is more pleasant and low-key as the responsible boy-next-door type, and Danny Glover is outstanding as the paternal, gravel-voiced Mr. Fletcher. Diaz is also quite solid as a vague love interest/codirector/costar; and keep an eye out for Sigourney Weaver in a small cameo.
Michel Gondry's fourth full-length film is a big-hearted, mildly bittersweet little comedy, with the slightly unreal quality you expect from his films. I want the Sweded "Be Kind Rewind!"
Movie Review: Charming viewing for some
Summary: 4 Stars
Known for his inventive music videos, Michel Gondry made a huge splash with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" which still has Jim Carrey's best performance ever, a great concept and a genuinely affecting love story. His follow-up "The Science of Sleep" was also quite out there and was likable but there was a feeling like it was too out there for its own good...plus pacing problems. With another premise built more on fantasy and surrealism than reality, we have "Be Kind Rewind" which was met with a rather lukewarm response. Seems like overkill since the film was entertaining from beginning to end. Not a laugh-riot per se but wasn't a give-me-back-my-2-hours awful either.
Mike and Jerry work at the "Be Kind Rewind" video store, probably one of the last remaining stores that carries VHS in New Jersey. Despite being known as the home of music legend Fats Domino, the store is in danger of shutting down and the owner Mr. Fletcher leaves for awhile leaving the store in the hands of Mike. But Jerry has an accident that leaves him magnetized which causes him to erase the tapes found in the entire store. Not wanting to face the owner, they decide instead to "swede" the tapes: shot using very low-budget effects and more than half the length of the originals, they basically redo the films and become a bit of a neighborhood sensation in the process.
When I first heard of the film's story and the idea of customers getting hooked, I couldn't tell if the customers were that dim to realize that the movie isn't Ghostbusters or Rush Hour 2 or if they just found it better and more exciting than actually watching them. But upon watching the film I realized that it doesn't really matter since, like all of Gondry's films, reality mixes with imagination very frequently. In essence, this film's more a fairy tale than going for outright plausibility (do people even still own VHS players?). But the film's more for people who just want to watch a movie.
The main draw is probably the "sweded" versions of movies with effects are quite crude though they're quite charming in how they try to replicate them. It was also nice to see their effects actually improve...for lack of a better word, as their first feature Ghostbusters is quite low-budget but then get more inventive with each film they do (their King Kong for instance). And the actors make it entertaining as they don't just do naughty humor with body parts said everywhere yet passing the film off as a film of heart. That was my one complaint with films done by Judd Apatow as the film's are indeed funny but then they try to add more drama and character moments which felt a bit disconnected from the frequent male body part words characters can say in a minute but here, the actors add a bit more of a charm to it. However, the film is the best when it shows redone scenes from older movies but then it's like they just drop it and their sweded films are more talked about then shown.
I think a film like this is one where it'll connect with people just as much as turn off the others. Unlike other films where there's a huge praise for it, this is more of a love it/hate it thing and for awhile, I'm teetering more towards the love it side the more it sinks in.
Movie Review: Lovable indie film celebrates innovation, artistic freedom, and the neighborhood
Summary: 4 Stars
Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"} wrote and directed this little slice of indie-film magic, starring Mos Def, Jack Black, and Danny Glover (among others). A mere plot summary does not do justice to the quirky charm that makes this movie so darn fun - it has to be experienced.
But this is a review, so here goes nothing. Elroy Fletcher (Glover) runs a run-down video store on a run-down block of run-down Passaic, New Jersey. (OK - that last bit is redundant.) He goes on a scouting mission to modernize his store, leaving Mike (Def) in charge, with one basic rule: don't let Jerry (Black) in the store. Mike can't figure out the message at first, but he already kinda knows that Jerry never had screws in the first place, much less screws that are loose.
Jerry still manages to get into the store after having magnetized himself in a raid on a local power plant. The details of this "raid" shouldn't be spoiled, but I will say that it involves the most brilliant set of urban camouflage ever used. Jerry demagnetizes all the tapes, and in order to keep their few customers happy, Jerry and Mike begin filming their own versions of "Driving Miss Daisy," "King Kong," "Rush Hour 2," etc. The movies are marketed as special versions that have been "Sweded," and the customers go bonkers for them.
So what was first a bizarre character study gradually evolves into a paean to the magic of the movies. The movies help us create our own little truth, even though every movie involves a thousand lies. Who cares if a certain musician wasn't born in Passaic? If there's a movie about the musician and it says he's from Passaic, that's all that matters.
All the actors play their parts marvelously, with a lot of charm. Even Black, who has enough zany energy to overwhelm a movie like this, works well within the ensemble. I love Jack Black, but a lot of his movies ("School of Rock") work because the other actors get out of his way. Here, the other actors work in balance with Black and the result is a movie that stars Jack Black but isn't a "Jack Black movie."
Innovative camera work and a touching script make "Be Kind Rewind" one of the best feel-good movies from the last year, and over time this movie could evolve, a la "Shawshank Redemption," into a modern classic. I only give it four stars now because I think it might even be better on repeated viewings, at which time I will amend this review. Watch this movie.
Movie Review: Erase/Rewind
Summary: 4 Stars
Be Kind Rewind
Starring Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover
Directed by Michel Gondry
Be Kind Rewind, written and directed by Oscar-winning director, Michel Gondry is just the third major film release by the kooky Frenchman who's long associated as the longtime director of countless wacky Bjork videos. Rewind is slightly different from Gondry's first two features. While Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Science of Sleep dealt more with the romantic relationship of two, Rewind expands its reach to a greater level.
Mos Def and Jack Black plays a pair of best friends, Mike and Jerry. Mike works for Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover) at his video store located in a building under great disrepair. Jerry convinces Mike to sabotage the power plant as he's convinced that their minds are adversely affected by it. A mishap happens and Jerry becomes magnetised. As Mr Fletcher leaves to prepare for an overhaul of his old video store (which he has lied to Mike about it being the birth place of a legendary jazz singer) in order to save it. The magentised Jerry causes all the video tapes to be erased. Hence, in a bid to save the business, the duo sets out to recreate all the videos by 'swedeing' them - re-shooting their own versions, only to be embraced with unexpected popularity from the townsfolk.
While such a storyline easily borders on irrelevance and slapstick, the charm lies in Gondry's master. The way Mike and Jerry remakes the movies including the final production shows basic but great movie-making. The cast is excellent as the comedic chemistry of Jack Black and Mos Def is perfect. The supporting cast of Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and even Sigourney Weaver (in a cameo) lends extra sweetness to the movie.
Be Kind Rewind is not just all laughs but it is about relationship, humility, irony and sarcasm and Gondry succeeds without being cloyingly sentimental. (A)