Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writer:

Michel Gondry (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

You name it, we shoot it

Plot:

A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.

Plot Keywords:

Camcorder | Camouflage | Slapstick | Steamroller | Auto Mechanic

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jack Black	...	Jerry
Mos Def	...	Mike
Danny Glover	...	Elroy Fletcher
Mia Farrow	...	Miss Falewicz
Melonie Diaz	...	Alma
Irv Gooch	...	Wilson
Chandler Parker	...	Craig
Arjay Smith	...	Manny
Quinton Aaron	...	Q
Gio Perez	...	Randy
Basia Rosas	...	Andrea
Tomasz Soltys	...	Carl
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Kid #1
Blake Hightower	...	Kid #2
Amir Ali Said	...	Kid #3

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references.

Runtime:

USA:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12A | Sweden:Btl | Ireland:12A | Norway:7 | Australia:PG | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43318) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Denmark:A | Greece:K | Finland:S | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Québec) | Germany:o.Al. | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Partizan

Trivia:

Michel Gondry was inspired to make this film after making Block Party (2005) which took place on one city block. Dave Chappelle was interested in playing Mike and came up with ideas of remaking Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Boyz n the Hood (1991).

Quotes:

Mike: [holding the Ghost Busters tape] I'll be Bill Murray and you'll be everyone else.

Movie Connections:

References The Notebook (2004)

The Purple Rose of Passaic

Michel Gondry's new film is NO "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", but it's better than "The Science of Sleep" and doesn't deserve the negative reviews it's been getting. Without Charlie Kaufman writing, Gondry's script might be a little less original, but his visual creativity (no one else knows how to make art out of cardboard boxes like him!) and passion for his story makes "Be Kind Rewind" some kind of special.

Mos Def and Jack Black work at Danny Glover's video store and, after Black gets "magnetized", he unintentionally turns every tape in the store blank. They have the brilliant idea of remaking the customers' favorite movies (from "Driving Miss Daisy" to "Last Tango in Paris"), and they suddenly become the local sensation. Some moments are very funny, others not so much, but this is not supposed to be a Farrelly Bros. kind of flick. With a simple but very compelling idea, Gondry created a story about people's love for movies, the sense of community, the compulsion for memories, the oblivion of old-time artists (the Fats Waller subplot) and old-fashioned technology (should Glover finally adhere to DVDs?). Gondry said in an interview: "I am not against modern things. I use technology, but what I am against is when the technology creates a system that makes you believe you need to use it". I couldn't agree more. By the end, even though not being a masterpiece like "Eternal Sunshine", "Be Kind Rewind" leaves you with the bittersweet feeling of other movies about our love for film-making, more notably "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (by the way, Mia Farrow plays the video store's most loyal customer) and "Cinema Paradiso". Definitely worth seeing. 8/10.