Be Kind Rewind (2008)

To me, this movie is perfection.

The Age of Commercialism

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A loose story developed around an amusing concept, "Be Kind Rewind" showcases the limits of good intentions alone as much as it does the visual cleverness of writer-director Michel Gondry.Mike (Mos Def) works at a video rental store in Passaic, New Jersey. One day the store's entire inventory of videotapes is accidentally erased by bumbling pal Jerry (Jack Black). Forced to improvise, the pair set about restocking the store with special new footage for the lost movies they shoot themselves, using whatever is on hand. The end result proves wildly popular, but can it save the store from demolition?"Be Kind Rewind" works hard at establishing a rudimentary concept of "do-it-yourself" filmmaking it calls "Sweding." This basically involves taking the core idea behind a big-budget Hollywood production, say "Ghostbusters" or "Rush Hour 2," and shooting a 20- minute improvised version of that on videotape.It's a fun concept that takes up a half-hour of montage sequences and set-ups. The rest of the time, we get Gondry's vision of Passaic as a multi-cultural melting pot of good vibes and offbeat whimsy. Rather pleasant, yet it never coalesces into anything substantial.Much of the more structured comedy is dropped on the shoulders of Black, who plays one of his more antic wild men here, to a somewhat obnoxious extent. A lengthy opening section plays up his character's annoying, trouble-causing nature especially as it relates to a power plant which Jerry claims is controlling and "paranizing" him. This is one of many pieces of "Be Kind Rewind" which feels totally random, more so after it is dropped for the "Sweding" idea.The whole film is like that. We are given a lengthy preamble about the singular importance of Fats Waller to the community, only to learn later on that he wasn't really born in the building where the video store is, and so what? A long section centers on the video store's owner, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) and his fight to keep the building from being demolished which is played up at dramatic length but never resolved.At least the "sweding" is fun. Shooting "Ghostbusters," Mike does his own version of the end credits, him basically saying "Starring Bill Murray and other actors" after the shoot is over. When the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man explodes, the final effect is achieved by holding a still photo of a crowd of people in front of the camera lens, then spraying it with whipped cream.I especially enjoyed Melonie Diaz as a young woman named Alma who Mike and Jerry enlist to help them make their movies, basically to play any of the female parts that require kissing scenes. Like everything else in the film, Alma is introduced randomly, but with Diaz in the part I didn't care. It's fun watching her interact with everyone else in such an unaffected way, however absurd it gets.Gondry, who made his mark with high-concept projects like "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind," seems here to be consciously stepping down from that more serious headspace to make something designed to be enjoyable and to celebrate the human spirit. After about 30 minutes, I was more or less enjoying the experience, if never quite enough to recommend it.

This great mowie. I like many much. It got das sugars. Mos Def brilliance is here.Hi-Fi, Low-Fi magicality. Jack Black equal goodness gracious great goodies. Narrative was excellency in truthfulness. Heroic ending was a part of movie. If i can watch again I wool. I'm promise.Out of ten golden booties: nine golden glasses with strings and ribbons. Awards: most under-rated movie I seen in a decades.Bonus: Mos Def is fancy musician too. I bet you not knowed these. Thanks you! Have a wonderful-licious days!P.S. Amazon is the proprietor of IMDb! Oh no shoesie nozzles!Also, the mowie was really, really, really, really, grateful. It is a regret of the theatre owners association corporation of America that this film no longer is screening because it made the bacon, the cake, and the bread. AND the Bank!

I enjoyed this movie, especially the first half. It got a bit cheesy towards the end, but mostly it was good fun. One thing that really bothers me is why they didn't do a spoof of Lethal Weapon? They had Danny Glover in the movie, yet they didn't take advantage of that? I also half expected Sigourney Weaver to make some reference to Ghostbusters (for obvious reasons) when she was making her copyright infringement speech. Another missed opportunity..... I actually think the ideas these two came up with to make spoof copies of the movies, was a very good one, and I too would pay to see that. It's a shame someone wouldn't take the initiative on that and do spoofs of Ghostbusters, Rush Hour etc..... Other than the missed opportunities, it was a good laugh and I would recommend it.

Being age 15, one can expect people my age to only be puberty stricken teenagers who love stupid movies like Transformers and the like. The truth of the matter is that I want to be a movie maker, and this was one of 3 movies that helped me get the push I needed.Be Kind, Rewind is the story of two men who accidentally erase all the video tapes in a dying video store. So to fix everything, they start to remake all of the movies they erased, starting with Ghostbusters. After the fact, their business becomes booming! The problem is that the copyright laws keep them from remaking movies with the original VHS tape provided by the studios. Will they save Be Kind, Rewind? Watch the movie to find out.First of all, this movie is advertised as a comedy, and it also stars Jack Black. So one would assume this movie will be laugh out loud hilarious! (See School of Rock, which is a favorite of mine.) However, this is anything but. It's still funny, but the novelty comes from seeing how they "Swede" movies, like Boogie Nights or 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, that's not to say that the movie isn't good. Facto of the matter, I feel like it is one of the best movies ever made! The comedy is subtle, with the interactions of the characters, as well as some of the things they say. The performances are actually well acted. Mos Def, who is from The Italian Job, turns in an innocent performance as Mike the Clerk. He stutters in a way, but it's the type of stuttering that you don't mind, and he has this way of acting that you can't help but smile and feel sad for him when he is sad. Jack Black plays Jerry, a lunatic who is a conspiracy theorist that thinks the government is trying to get him. Surprisingly, his performance is subtle, and you feel for him in the movie. He is kind of a method actor in a way in this movie, and he cares about the movies he makes, even if they are remakes. These performances are just to name a few.Then we have the knowledge of the director. The person who made the movie is Michel Gondry, who directed The Science of Sleep, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both of which are great movies. Going into this movie, you might expect this movie to be a mind-bender much like those movies. If you are expecting that, then you will be disappointed unfortunately. I went into this movie just to see a comedy about people remaking Ghostbusters. Which brings me to the one thing that may divide people, which is...... The ending. This is one movie where I have to bring up the ending. The ending might be depressing for people who expect a comedy, but I see it like this: You have people who made a movie, and they are looking at what they worked so hard on. They created a work of art together. It's a piece of film they made, that made them laugh, cry, and angry. It shows that even the smallest bit of effort can make a big impact. This film is a film for people who love film, if that makes any sense. I give this a 10/10, it's a spectacular movie, not to be missed by anybody. Just, again, don't expect this to be the most laugh out loud movie ever made.