Be Kind Rewind, A Simple Comedy

Be Kind Rewind is a nice little movie. The basic story outline, which you probably already know, goes like this. Mr. Fletcher (Glover) is the owner of a nice little dumpy video store known as Be Kind Rewind. It’s when Mr. Fletcher turns the responsibility of running the VHS shop over to his non-biological son Mike (Mos Def) for a couple of weeks when problems arise. Mike’s friend Jerry (Black) plans a revenge assault on a neighboring power plant in retaliation of recent headaches he’s been getting. The assault goes wrong and Jerry ends up magnetized. When he walks into the video store he ends up erasing all the VHS tapes, and thus the entire stores library. Consequently they have to remake all the movies in the store to replace those they destroyed.

The plot is an original idea that works. The characters are unbelievably stupid but at the same time they never really get on your nerves and are generally likable. The movie stays lighthearted and clever the entire way and never takes itself too seriously. It takes time to make quips at itself and at the industry. An example on how serious the movie takes itself would be the trailer that Michel Gondry made, where he “sweded” the trailer all by himself, much like they do in the movie. There are plenty of funny moments but not many are gut wrenchingly funny, but they still get a laugh or two. While the script is original, nice, and funny — it’s a bit predictable. If you’ve seen the trailer you already know what is going to happen in the movie from beginning to end.

Visually the movie is nice. While there aren’t any multi-million dollar special effects, it’s still home to one of the most original and visually pleasing montages ever seen in a movie. The “sweded” video clips look like they were genuinely shot with a crap ass VHS tape recorder (which I’m sure they were), and it perfectly captures the effect of low budget indie movies. The clips themselves are usually quite funny, ranging from Ghost Busters, to The Lion King.

The acting itself isn’t bad. Danny Glover does has a nice role as the charming yet grumpy old man, and Jack Black does a good job of playing the dumbest character in the movie without over doing it. Mos Def is a great actor and while I don’t believe the role in the movie was exactly challenging for him, he did a great job in it none the less. One of the strongest points of the movie is its kindness. It’s the kind of movie that by the end makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think it achieves this through many of the simple lovable characters. Where films like Napoleon Dynamite used stupid characters with stupid dialog to make a movie, Gondry made stupid characters with stupid dialog to make simple characters that are easy to love and feel for.

In the end Be Kind Rewind has simple characters, and simple dialog yet is an entirely original movie. It’s an enjoyable film that has plenty of funny but not hysterical moments. Be Kind Rewind is the kind of movie that leaves you feeling good after you exit the theater.