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Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Be Kind Rewind |
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Posted on 2/25/08
Be Kind Rewind
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Movies that are schmaltzy or sappy are often said to have a "heart." In movie reviewer speak, this simply means that it knows where the heartstrings are, and makes a point to tug them. Be Kind Rewind may choke you up, not through crude emotional manipulation, but through genuine earnestness. In this sense, it doesn't just have a heart; it has a soul.
The movie begins, like so many others, with a legend: the legend of a Jazz musician named Fats Waller. Fats, it is said, was born in the same decrepit house that now houses a video store. The store is called "Be Kind Rewind" because it only houses VHS tapes, which it makes available under a simple policy: one tape, one day, one dollar.
The store is run by a man named Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), who is assisted by a young man named Mike (Mos Def) and tormented by a young man named Jerry (Jack Black). The building is about to be condemned, and Mr. Fletcher has a finite amount of time to come up with the money to repair it. So, he makes up an excuse and goes off to do some opposition research on West Coast Video, leading to an amusing scene where, despite owning a video store, he seems to have just learned of the existence of DVDs.
Mike is left in charge, but things go awry when Jerry -- in some bizarre attempt to thwart a perceived government conspiracy -- tries to destroy the local power plant. He fails, of course, and in the process, he becomes magnetized, and inadvertently erases all of the store's tapes as a result.
Already in a bad situation, Mike finds his back up against a wall when Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), a friend of Mr. Fletcher's, checks on the store while he's away and asks to rent Ghostbusters. Mike promises that they'll have it by the time the store closes, and eventually comes up with the idea to film a crude homemade version with Jerry, assuming that Miss Falewicz knows nothing about the movie and might not know she's not watching the real thing. Her son sees it, too, and he and his friends come demanding more. Pretty soon, word gets out, and people are lining up around the block to make requests.
The setup is a brilliant excuse for Black and Mos Def to play off each other, and some of the ways they crudely replicate famous scenes are downright inspired. The "effects" are terrible, to be sure, but surprisingly creative, and it's fun seeing how they handle various challenges, like recreating animated films, or trying to shoot night scenes during the day. They gain help by recruiting a local girl named Alma (Melonie Diaz, reminiscent of a young Rosie Perez) who works at the dry cleaner's to make some of their reworked love scenes a little more palpable.
Inevitably, their little scheme runs into legal trouble, and the movie shifts gears as all involved struggle to find a way to save the shop. Whether they succeed, and what they do, I will not reveal. The film's conclusion is both hopeful and realistic, and speaks to the power of both stories and communities to unite and inspire.
The performances are all spot-on, and at no point do any of the actors, despite some considerable talents, overshadow their own characters. Jack Black's penchant for grabbing scenes by the lapels is a bit more subdued here; his zaniness is controlled and serves only the story.
A few plotlines are left dangling, and the exact nature of several relationships is left undefined, but the film isn't hurt by either because it focuses instead on how the characters think and feel about each other, regardless of how they got where they are.
People expecting nothing but hysterical riffs on their favorite films might be disappointed. Be Kind Rewind is funny, but a lot of its humor exists outside of the movie making, and focusing on just the gags may cause viewers to overlook the touching messages underneath.
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