Be Kind Rewind
In his fifth film out as director, Michel Gondry takes an unorthodox look at a Hollywood system afraid of piracy and bootlegging that could cost them millions and the passion of people who will go to any lengths to see the movies that fuel their dreams, and live in their memories. In tone, it’s more along the lines of his 2005 documentary “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” in the way it celebrates community and the liberating power of entertainment than his frisky and uneven debut “Human Nature,” the fantastical yet mournful romance of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and 2006’s underrated “The Science of Sleep.” But the romantic nature of the last two films comes through not in any sort of conventional love story but in the love everyone from your average joe watcher to the guy working the counter at your local video store has for the movies that leave a mark on the viewer time can’t erase.
Mos Def plays Mike, an employee of the Be Kind Rewind video store in Passaic, New Jersey run by father figure Elroy Fletcher (the wonderful Danny Glover). His mechanic friend Jerry (Jack Black) is a local screwup Mr. Fletcher doesn’t want in the store while he goes off to a memorial for Jazz legend Fats Waller, who- it is told- lived above the store. Unfortunately, Mike doesn’t get the message until its’ too late; after a bizarre plan to get back at a power company (don’t worry, they don’t really explain it in the movie, either), Jerry becomes magnetized, meaning the first second he steps into the store, every tape in it is erased. That’s bad news when Miss Falewicz (a slightly daffy and endearingly touching Mia Farrow), a local and friend of Mr. Fletcher, comes in wanting to rent “Ghostbusters.” But the two hatch a plan on the spot- using an old video camera and their (admittedly fuzzy) memories of the film, the two star in a makeshift version of the film (with a cast and crew that soon includes other locals, including local hottie Alma (Melonie Diaz)) that is little more than 20-30 minutes long, but does the trick. The film is a hit with the locals, prompting a group of tough guys to ask, “What else you got?”
“Be Kind Rewind” is as low-rent a production as the films Mike and Jerry produce to replace erased versions of the likes of “2001,” “The Lion King,” “Robocop,” “Rush Hour 2” and “Driving Miss Daisy” (all of which are a kick to see snippets of), which is 90% of its’ appeal. If it had the sheen of a major studio production, I don’t see it having the same scrappy sense of fun and affectingly nostalgic sense of love for creativity. The suits don’t see it that way; when Be Kind Rewind gets too big for its’ “Sweded” versions of the blockbusters, in comes Hollywood (personified by Sigourney Weaver, among others) for the kill in a not-so-subtle jab at the execs who fear losing money enough to try and squelch the passions of people in love with movies enough to find brave new ways to see them, even if it means ignoring the FBI warning at the front of the tapes. It’s not very effective satire- Gondry’s writing hand is a little too heavy- but it doesn’t matter when the going gets tough, and the modern world threatens the level of community Mike and Jerry’s creativity has spawned.
That other 10% is not just Gondry’s affection for his underdog characters, but the actors that bring them to life. Mos Def (after roles in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “16 Blocks,” and “The Italian Job”) is a perfect everyman hero- low-key and very down-to-earth- the voice of reason that acts as counterpoint of Jerry’s lunacy. As Jerry, Black plays the “manic” card a little too hard much after it worked in films like “High Fidelity” and “School of Rock,” but he’s nonetheless a very real person- a perpetual screw-up with his heart in the right place, even if his mind goes a little far off the tracks. In a way, he’s a little like Gondry, whose heart is always in the right place, but sometimes doesn’t always have the best way of getting his point across. That doesn’t stop his film from being one of the year’s genuine gems, however.
