
Be Kind, Rewind - Community Spirit

Be kind, Rewind is a fun loving, sweet movie about friendship and community spirit.
Jack Black suits these types of roles, where he gets to be himself and add some heart into the film at the same time. Black is a brilliant comedian, but it's films like Be Kind (as well as School of Rock, Shallow Hal) that really show his talent. He's not over the top in this, but his talent shines through to give some funny on screen humour.
Mos Def isn't someone I'm used to seeing on-screen, but I loved his rendition of Ford Prefect in 'Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy' and was looking forward to seeing him in this. He plays a lovely role as the guy left in charge of his bosses video store. Def's character along with Black's set up the comedy team.
The movie revolves around the video rental store 'Be Kind, Rewind'. The type of rental place you don't see any more, a fact in itself which is slightly disappointing because it oozes a little bit of charm you don't find in the large rental stores of today. Jerry (Black) lives by a power station and after a freak accident, becomes magnetized. I'd go into detail as of the accident, but it has to be seen to be (a) believed and (b) laughed about. Mike (Def) having been left in charge of the store when his boss, Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover) goes away for a few days, has been told expressly not to let Jerry hang about the store, but it's realised to late.
Jerry's magnetisation means he wipes every VHS is the store. When a regular customer pays a visit and finds the store in disarray she threatens to tell Mr Fletcher, much to the two men's consternation and they vow to get things sorted out, as well as get her a copy of Ghostbusters. This sets up the premise of the movie, making their own version of famous movies. People get 'wind' of the tapes and start demanding copies for themselves, the home made versions are referred to as being 'Sweded'.
The movie manages to weave and interlink small story lines which leave you with a feel good factor by the end of it. It gains laughs by connecting with the audience about favourite movies over the years and the clever ways they manage to create some of the special effects (think of do it your self versions of Ghostbusters, Robocop, Driving Miss Daisy, Men in Black- How would you do it?). It makes us care about this small dwindling store being threatened by building contractors wanting to tear it down to create a new build complex.
The film doesn't go in depth into backgrounds of the characters, but it doesn't seem to detract from the overall impression of the movie. We come to care enough for the community and characters that not knowing their backgrounds doesn't hinder our enjoyment. The eventual culmination of the movie sees the community spirit being banded together and really gives you that feel good boost.
Review ID: 10000000007651239

Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our
guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours.
You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote.
Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.