by Daniel Stephens

Created on: March 07, 2009

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, USA, 2008)
Dir. Michel Gondry; starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Diaz, Irv Gooch, Chandler Parker

French-born writer and director Michel Gondry had to wonder about the dichotomy inherently suffered when referencing and re-creating, quite directly, some of the most iconic and well-loved Hollywood movies of the modern era. You have the instantaneous appeal to your average movie fan but you also gain the scrutiny of an audience with their own ideas of how it should be done. But where Gondry fails to enchant he at least finds poignancy without overt sentimentalism; his film ultimately telling of community, friendship, and having a good time.

Be Kind Rewind begins with friends Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def) assisting video store owner Elroy (Danny Glover) produce a home-made film about a famous musician born in his home. When Elroy learns he can't afford to stop a real estate developer ripping down his home and video store, he leaves to plot an alternative plan leaving Mike in charge. But things don't go well, as paranoid Jerry gets accidentally magnetised when trying to sabotage a nearby power plant. Of course, he ends up walking into the video store, and since it stocks only VHS, wipes all the tapes blank leaving Mike nothing to offer his customers.

When Mia Farrow's Miss Falewicz orders Ghostbusters, Mike decides, since she's never seen the film, to re-create it on their home video recorder. Although the ruse doesn't pull the wool over anybody's eyes, quickly the whole town wants their favourite movies re-made, seeing Mike, Jerry, and friend Alma (Melonie Diaz) re-shooting zero-budget style everything from Rush Hour 2, House Party, Frequency, and Happy Campers to Seven, Last Tango In Paris, Freddy Versus Jason, and Boyz N The Hood.

I suppose for a film about remaking plots it's ironic there are so many holes in its own. I wonder if Gondry has been sitting on this script since the mid-nineties when people still had VHS players. Even the most cultured lover of all things historic must have realised the downside to running a shop catering only to videos when the players themselves halted production years ago and most households don't have one anymore. Glover's Elroy is too intelligent to have over-looked this simple fact so his bewilderment at not being able to afford health and safety improvements on his shop appear manufactured for the good of the story. This isn't the only script

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