Be Kind Rewind (2008) - DVD Review
Eternal Sunshine Director Michel Gondry Visits Mainstream
Aug 4, 2009
If Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep were Michel Gondry’s lucid dreams made celluloid, Be Kind Rewind sees the erstwhile maverick music video maker deliver a more digestible version of his vision.
Gondry’s third feature film revolves around video store employee Mike (Mos Def) and his friend Jerry (Jack Black), who land the already failing store in further trouble when Jerry accidentally wipes its entire stock after becoming magnetised during a failed sabotage of the local power plant.
Mike’s desperation to save the shop, and the livelihood of its owner Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover), leads the two friends to attempt to remake each film in the store’s outdated VHS collection, with themselves as the stars. As demand for the pair’s home made titles rockets, Mike starts to believe he can reverse the fortunes of the flagging business and earn the respect and gratitude of father figure Mr Fletcher.
Slapstick and Satire
After a slow start and the exposition of a rather tired subplot (major corporation threatens to swallow up homespun small business) the film finds its feet in the scenes where Mike, Jerry and an assortment of enthusiastic locals throw themselves into recreating the likes of Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2 and King Kong.
Where Gondry’s earlier work would gleefully spin off into dreamlike tangents, here he glories in the slapstick generated by Mike and Jerry’s adventures in filmmaking, allowing Jack Black free reign to exercise his well worn but still just on the right side of irritating brand of chaotic comedy.
Mos Def turns in a laconic performance as the softly spoken Mike, while Danny Glover has little more to do than provide gravitas to counter the increasingly elaborate movie spoofs. Some potentially interesting conflicts are left unexplored, such as the racial tension created by Jerry’s insistence on a remake of Driving Miss Daisy, or the history behind Mr Fletcher’s rivalry with the local DVD store owner.
Reality Doesn't Bite
The film is less about character, though, than the concept of previously passive movie consumers engaging with the medium to create their own versions of reality. The townspeople eventually unite to make a documentary on Fats Waller, inspired by Mr Fletcher’s tall tales of the jazz legend, screening it to paying customers in a last ditch attempt to save the store.
Gondry converts will recognise the theme of re-imagined realities and lap up examples of the director’s CGI free visual ingenuity, whereas fence sitters will find the narrative infinitely more accessible than The Science of Sleep. Hearts not even slightly warmed by the Capra-esque ending had best admit defeat.
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