Michel Gondry is sat at his desk, sifting through a pile of scripts. Some are good, some are bad, and then – yes, here it is… I can make things from cardboard and wicker and socks in this one – sign me up!
In Be Kind Rewind, endearingly old school Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) runs an equally old school video rental store. Mike (Mos Def) is his endearingly incompetent assistant, and Jerry (Jack Black) is Mike’s endearingly insane buddy. It’s a set-up you couldn’t fail to warm to. When Mr. Fletcher decides to take some time out, he leaves Mike in charge of the store. Unfortunately, Jerry then gets busy breaking into the local power plant, becoming electro-magnetised, walking back into the store and wiping all the tapes.
Fuelled by hapless gusto, Mike and Jerry set about making their own homemade versions of everything from Ghostbusters to Robocop via Driving Miss Daisy. Here, Gondry’s creative juices kick in, and we are a go. Be Kind evolves into a bizarre trip down memory lane as the two friends splice together their lo-fi homages and try to pass them off as the real thing. And what do you know, the neighbours love them, and they become local celebrities.
It makes no sense – but it’s brilliant and funny. From Mos Def’s lackadaisical charm to the earnest sweetness of sorta kinda love interest Alma (Melonie Diaz), the performances are excellent. Unsurprisingly, though, it’s the limitless energy of Jack Black that ends up pretty much owning the show.
Be Kind Rewind is like the spirit of the ’80s, reborn and cut loose, freewheeling around with a video camera trying desperately to save itself. It’s all totally random but it totally doesn’t matter. Mr. Fletcher’s store is going to be demolished! They must make more movies, enlist the neighbours and unite the local community!
The heart lacking in Gondry’s The Science Of Sleep reasserts itself here with the kind of all enveloping thump-thump-thump that will leave you feeling warm as hell. If you’re into movies that suck, then this is not the film for you.
Well… It won’t. But still I think it’s the best effort by Mr. Gondry so far.
Written by Toms on May 2nd, 2008 at 5:21 pm