My Life, Made Possible By Pop Culture

Be Kind Rewind
New Line; 2008
Directed By Michel Gondry

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If you thought the pairing of Jack Black and Mos Def in Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind was going to be the equivalent of a cinematic Odd Couple, you wouldn’t be completely wrong. Black is back at his usual silly antics as Jerry, a slightly paranoid oddball who frequents the video rental store at which Mos Def’s Mike works. And Mos Def himself works well as the straight man, a quiet thinker who only wants to get his work done in a way that makes his boss, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), proud. When Fletcher has to leave town for a few days and leaves Mike in charge of the store, he gives him one simple, though slightly illegible rule: Don’t let Jerry in the store. Of course by the time Mike figures out what the note says, it’s too late: somehow in yet another one of his harebrained schemes, Jerry manages to get magnetized, and he wipes all of the tapes clean of content just by standing near them and then decides no one will notice if they just reenact the movies and rent out their own versions to the small town folk. Underneath the chuckles, though, Be Kind Rewind’s deeper character moments and strong emphasis on the importance of an artistic drive and entrepreneurship are what sets it apart from being just another slapstick buddy comedy.

Gondry is almost tongue-in-cheek with his message in Be Kind Rewind, one he tells through both men but in different ways. He wants everyone to get out there and tell their stories, regardless of the amount of money or the size of their crew, and he offers an almost feature length “how to” through Be Kind Rewind. Jerry is the carefree dreamer who finds a love of performing so much so that after they finish shooting their first “remake,” he stays in costume as Mike hands the tape over to a nosy customer (Mia Farrow). Conspicuously in her peripheral eyeline, he mouths lines from the movie in an attempt to get noticed. Black adds just enough desperation to his eyes in that scene that he suddenly stops being just another cartoonish character and becomes a complicated man. And it is in those moments the film really picks up on their journey.

While time seems to stand still in Be Kind Rewind (with the store being reluctant to stock DVDs and Mike clinging to old stories about a childhood hero), the result is never distracting or corny because the simpler things clung to are universally missed. These are two “every men” who did not set out to be heroes or revitalize their community, even though they stumble into doing just that. It is most satisfying and refreshing then, when Hollywood comes knocking on their door, it is not because they are so impressed with what they are doing; instead Gondry “keeps it real” with his plot twist and effortlessly weaves grace and naturalism into his slightly satirical film.

The most fun is had by the filmmakers and the audience alike during the sequences in which the amateurs film their own version of Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, and even The Lion King. There is something just innately thrilling about watching grown men (and women– Melonie Diaz’ slightly sophomoric Alma) run around their hometown with a handheld camera and sneak shots; it makes you want to get up and create something for yourself, too, and each brief snippet just leaves you wanting more… in a good way.

Reviewing Be Kind Rewind on DVD is poetic, and maybe even a little ironic, considering it is the medium to which Fletcher was fighting the conversion, and in following that tongue-in-cheek telling, Gondry inserted an additional scene directly into the feature on the disc—a scene that talks directly about Fletcher’s failing business because of his failure to adapt with the times and technology. At about a minute long, many might not remember this wasn’t in the theatrical version, but in its short time on screen it offers a bit more empathetic look at Fletcher and his business.

The DVD offers both original 2.35:1 widescreen and a compressed full screen version of the film, and all of the menus have the “homemade” look that Mike and Jerry made famous in their own films. It is a promising start to a disc that unfortunately cannot live up to the expectations. New Line only offers two real extras on this release: one is a ten-minute featurette (“Passaic Mosaic”) that features interviews from the cast as well as locals of the streets on which they filmed. While this extra is unique in that it actually looks at the “real people” (or the locals) who were brought in as consultants or background actors on the film, it cannot make up for the fact that the only other piece of bonus footage is the long version of the theatrical trailer. Considering other extras (like some of Mike and Jerry’s versions of classic films) leaked online almost immediately when the theatrical release was being promoted, it can only be assumed New Line is waiting to release a Special Edition– again a bit poetic as Mike and Jerry often had to make their customers wait for “custom” videos—though they did it because they hadn’t yet shot the titles, and New Line is just sitting on a goldmine.

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