Some critics are slamming director Michel Gondry’s sweet new slipstream comedy Be Kind Rewind for being excessively heartfelt and overly sentimental. I caught the film this weekend and was quickly wooed by its oddball humor, charming story about a neighborhood full of cuddly wackos, and warm message about the power of community spirit.
Those hoping for a thematic sister film to Gondry’s 2004 drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (written by Charlie Kaufman) might be disappointed. Rewind wears its heart on its quirky sleeve, and it leaves little room for existential angst or scenes of heartbreak. Still, fans of Gondry’s narrow sense of humor and visionary music video work should find a lot to like in Be Kind Rewind. Most people reading this have no doubt seen the trailers with Mos Def, doing a great job playing a spacier version of his Ford Prefect from Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Jack Black remaking, or “sweding,” movies like RoboCop, Rush Hour 2 and Ghostbusters. The duo’s imaginative zero-budget remakes are an essential part of the film, but they don’t start making them until way after the twenty-minute mark. First, Gondry sets up a story about the gentrification of an historic - to its residents anyway - East Coast neighborhood.
Mr. Freeman (Danny Glover) is forced to make expensive repairs to the building that houses his neighborhood video store. City hall threatens to demolish it and build condos on the site if he can’t bring the building up to code. Freeman takes a vacation to spy on a nearby Blockbuster-like franchise, hoping to ape the business model, and leaves Mos Def’s Mike in charge. Enter Jerry (Jack Black), Mike’s annoying, conspiracy theory-spouting buddy who lives next to the neighborhood power plant. Jerry gets himself zapped (with some cool lightning effects) and magnetized during a failed attempt to sabotage the power plant. Jerry’s newly magnetized body erases all the tapes in Freeman’s store, causing a desperate Mike to start remaking the store’s video catalog with a bulky, circa-1989 video camera.
The remakes are hilarious and, although low-tech, endlessly creative. Mike and Jerry use fishing poles and tinsel to recreate the Ghostbusters’ proton streams, and saucy pizzas stand in for blood pools in their version of Boyz N Da Hood. The sweded movies are a testament to Gondry’s unlimited imagination and charming, singular visual style. (Check out his music video and TV work at Youtube).
Mike and Jerry’s remakes are a hit with the neighborhood residents, who soon become part of their movie-making exploits. The creative projects unite the community and, spurred by the spirit of neighborhood jazz hero Fats Waller, the local Joes and Janes make a bid to reclaim the town from urban developers.
The right kind of person, namely the movie buff, will probably go home loving this movie, especially for its bizarre Sesame Streettone, its championing of the dirty underdog, and the delightful performances by the main cast (especially Mos Def and Glover) and a funny Mia Farrow. Yup, Mia Farrow. Sigourney Weaver even pops up in the third act, a possible signal that the A-listers are lining up to work with Gondry. I’m looking forward to his next project, a true sci-fi film based on the Rudy Rucker novel Master of Space and Time. I’m not sure what to make of his idea for a sequel to Rewind, though.
Review originally posted at SciFi Observer.