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Movie Review: Be Kind Rewind

This movie follows the scheming but enterprising attempts to reproduce VCR tapes that have been erased. Here's what our reviewer thought of this flick.

Review by Filomena Lea

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Name of film: Be Kind Rewind

Director: Michel Gondry

Lead Actors: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz

Music by Michel Bernard

The Story: This movie follows the scheming but enterprising attempts to reproduce VCR tapes that have been zapped by Jerry following his encounter with a power plant's electromagnetic field. The accident, which changes Jerry into a walking magnet, is then responsible for erasing all videotapes in a retail shop.

Review: The setting is a run-down store located in Passaic, N.J., the hometown of jazz piano impresario Fats Waller. The store is cramped for space and is owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), who has been badgered by a construction company's threats to demolish the building. Not one to give in to the demands of progress, Mr. Fletcher leaves town on the premise that he needs to research what other successful businesses are doing to maintain stability. Mike (Mos Def) is left to manage the business with clear instructions to keep Jerry (Jack Black), a neighborhood ne'er-do-well mechanic, out of the store.

Jerry's unfortunate collision with a power plant's electromagnetic field results in a surprising turn of events. He becomes magnetic and, in this condition, erases all the videos. As customers flock to return their rental videos claiming they are blank, the two conniving partners devise a scheme to reshoot the films using makeshift sets, kitchen equipment for sound effects, and the talents of various clumsy local customers. It's a zany plan for the amateur producers.

Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who is cast in the role of a whacky customer, is pleased with the remakes and stops at the shop to rent more. Although Miss Falewicz has a minor role, she is seen as a catalyst popularizing the new products available for rent. As the news circulates, throngs of customers line up at the store demanding "Ghostbusters" "Driving Miss Daisy" and remakes of other popular movies of the past .

This is not a movie one would enjoy unless one has seen similar movies of the 80's and early 90's. There are too many references to those earlier films. It is a silly movie that has little to offer an intelligent viewer, mainly because it lacks the humor it is intended to portray. The characters are shiftless and speak constantly in a monotone voice. All told, Be Kind Rewind is at best a boring one hour and forty-one minutes better spent doing something else. Rated PG 13, it has some sex and violence.

Rating:

 

–Reviewed by Filomena Lea of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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