Be Kind Rewind DVD Review

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 06.24.2008

A love letter to VHS comes to DVD. There's something that's just not right about that.

Directed by: Michael Gondry
Written by: Michael Gondry

Starring:
Jack Black - Jerry
Mos Def - Mike
Danny Glover - Mr. Fletcher
Mia Farrow - Miss Falewicz
Melonie Diaz - Alma
Arjay Smith - Manny
Paul Dinello - Mr. Rooney
Sigourney Weaver - Ms. Lawson


Domestic Gross: $11,175,164
Worldwide Gross: $28,258,129

DVD Release Date: 6/17/2008
Running Time: 94 minutes



Rated PG-13 for some sexual references

Director Mike Gondry is considered to be one of the more up and coming directors currently in Hollywood. Having started off in music videos, much like contemporaries Spike Jonze and David Fincher, he made his feature film debut in 2001, helming the Charlie Kaufman-written comedy Human Nature. Another Kaufman collaboration was the highlight of his career to date, in the Academy Award-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, the latter of whom was nominated for an Oscar herself, it was his most successful film to date, and while it wasn’t anything approaching a blockbuster, it certainly showed the potential audiences had to accept a film that wasn’t a standard Hollywood story. The incredibly well-received Dave Chapelle’s Block Party followed, and then in 2006, The Science of Sleep. Gondry’s career has garnered him pretty much nothing but critical success, though true commercial hits have yet to be made of any of his films. Another high-profile film came his way this year, when Be Kind Rewind, starring comedy stars Jack Black and Mos Def, made it to theatres in February. While again it was not exactly a commercial success—having barely made back its budget—it was fairly well-reviewed. Four months later, it has made its way to a DVD release.

The Movie

The film centers on Mike (Def), an employee at a video store called Be Kind Rewind in Passaic, New Jersey. Be Kind Rewind has yet to update to modern times, and its VHS-only catalogue is losing a lot of ground to local DVD chains. The store’s owner, Mr. Fletcher (Glover) tells stories about how legendary jazz pianist Fats Waller was born in the store, which enthralls Mike. His life revolves around the store and his best friend Jerry (Black), who works (and sleeps) in the nearby junkyard. Fletcher, who doesn’t trust Jerry one whit, is told that the building, which is as antique as the video format the store sells, is about to be condemned. Instead of giving in, he goes to check out the competition, with poorly-written instructions to Mike to keep Jerry out of the store. When the instructions aren’t deciphered in time and an attempted sabotage of the nearby power plant leaves Jerry magnetized, he accidentally erases all of Fletcher’s precious commodities. In a moment of desperation inspired by Miss Falewicz (Farrow), a customer who talks to Fletcher constantly on the phone, Mike and Jerry decide to start re-creating the films with their own low-rate, low-budget re-enactments of the movies. From Ghostbusters to Rush Hour 2, from Robocop to When We Were Kings, the twenty-minute recreations—called “sweded” films because of the explanation that they’re Swedish recreations—go over huge with the locals to Mike and Jerry’s shock. With the help of an aspiring actress/businesswoman named Alma (Diaz), they come up with a plan to save the building, with their sweded movies.

Mike Gondy’s movies have been anything but conventional to date, and Be Kind Rewind, while perhaps his most mainstream-style film thus far, is no exception. While undeniably a comedy, the movie starts off with a very odd, almost surreal first act. The act of Jerry magnetizing while being shocked during his attempted sabotage of the power plant is clearly ridiculous, and the jokes are few and far between in the early goings. Once the plot gets into the duo’s amateur film-making efforts however, it settles into a much easier pace, and the humor finds itself. The film is no less than a love letter to movies themselves, and the sweded films are both parody and tribute. One can’t help but to smile as Mike and Jerry run frantically through a library, clumsily re-creating the scenes from Ghostbusters. Much of this is due to Gondry’s dedication to the simplicity of the plot, which under another director might come off flawed. The lack of focus on the reality of such an undertaking, to say nothing of the community’s acceptance, is done in such a natural way that one can easily suspend their disbelief.

Gondry is also able to bring credible performances out of an excellent and varied cast. Jack Black and Mos Def are, of course, the focus of the film, and their odd-couple characterization of Jerry’s bug-eyed, energetic nature against Mike’s low-key and timid self creates a lot of the film’s charm. It’s no stretch for Black—this is largely a variation of his usual portrayals—but he manages to reign it in just enough to keep from overshadowing Def’s straight-man performance. Their earnestness forms the considerable heart of the film, along with Diaz’s surprisingly deft performance as go-getter Alma. In supporting them, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow are impressively reserved and quirky as Mister Fletcher and Miss Falewicz. These are roles neither actor, with impressive resumes and indelible reputations, had to take, but they strengthen the film with their presence. Another fine bit is the cameo casting of Sigourney Weaver as a court bailiff who causes problems—ironic, of course, since it is a request for Ghostbusters that sets the process in motion. All the actors are clearly enjoying themselves in their performances, and it helps even lift the beginning act into something that can be enjoyed.

To call this a great film would be a mistake, however. Besides the uneven opening, the film suffers from a lack of cohesiveness in the plot and a little too much whimsy. A late plot complication when the courts get involved due to copyright concerns is under-developed and seems tacked on just for the point of conflict. It’s also not a film for everyone—audiences who come in expecting a laugh-out-loud comedy will be disappointed. Where the film excels is its heartfelt moments—particularly the filming of the movies and the ending—and most significantly, its charm. These are the points where Gondry’s touch is most strongly felt—it’s what he excelled at in his previous films—and it’s the moments that are easiest to sit back and enjoy.

Film Rating: 7.5

The Video

Be Kind Rewind is presented with both a 2.35:1 widescreen and a 1.33:1 fullscreen option on one disc. The anamorphic transfer is quite decent; colors are natural looking and there’s little to know problems with the compression. Due to Gondry’s stylistic approach, the film feels more like a VHS transfer then the usual DVD, with a softer look and more of a limited color palette. Considering the film’s obvious love for the VHS format—DVD is clearly the enemy in this movie’s plot—this is a highly acceptable and even desirable look. There’s certainly nothing to complain about, and the director’s choice helps enhance the film in the DVD transfer.

Video Rating: 9.0

The Audio

Much like the video transfer, the audio presents no challenges or issues for the viewer. It has an option for 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, or 2.0 Dolby Stereo. All the dialogue is very easy to hear, and there are no sudden blares of sound like occur in other films that might make one have to adjust the volume throughout. There’s nothing absolutely exceptional with the sound, but there are no problems, either.

Audio Rating: 8.0

Special Features

The special features on Be Kind Rewind are, sadly, quite lacking. One would think that New Line could have at least provided the sweded version of the trailer that Gondry did, but even that is missing. There’s no commentary track, which is very sad, as Gondry is an entertaining personality who has shown he’s great at talking about his films.

Passaic Mosaic: (10:27) This is a very documentary-esque behind the scenes about the making of the film in Passaic, New Jersey. It's a tolerable, if somewhat dull, behind-the-scenes featurette, that is more about Passaic and the people there than the actual film. It’s certainly different from the usual gamut of self-congratulatory featurettes one usually gets with DVD, and it is nice to see the locals of the town, many of whom played extras, though it would have been nice to see more about the film itself. One amusing point is an interview with a local who's going to be playing an extra, who has no idea who Jack Black is.

Theatrical Trailer: (2:26) I enjoyed this trailer when it first came out, and always like seeing this feature included on the DVD.

Features Rating: 5.0

The 411: Mike Gondry is one of the more skilled directors to have entered Hollywood in the past several years, and Be Kind Rewind is certainly not even close to his best film. However, it's a very enjoyable and smile-inducing movie that, even when it's all over the place and trying to find itself in the opening act, manages to imbue itself with the simple joy that many big-budget Hollywood comedies fail to do. Deft performances from most of the cast and a simultaneous reverence for and snicker at the films re-created make this an enjoyable film to watch. A great video and good audio transfer help the film out on DVD, though the lack of special features is disappointing. It's a movie that is worth checking out, particularly for those who are fans of cinema itself, as opposed to just movies.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]