Member review

The Internet is packed today with countless homemade parodies of movies that range from hilarious to laughably bad. We can have a desire to recreate our favourite flicks to post it on YouTube for everyone to see if our love for the source material is that strong and this desire is what holds Be Kind Rewind's plot. The film is set in one of my favourite places on the planet; the humble video store. Running the business is Mr.Fletcher, an old man who is hit with a piece of massive news; if he doesn't improve the store and earn more money then the building will be demolished. The film is set in a time where the DVD is just coming into domination over the VHS and this spells trouble for the Be Kind Rewind video store due to Mr. Fletcher's strict 'No-DVD' rule. And so Mr. Fletcher leaves the store to find ways he can improve before it's too late and leaves the business in the hands of Mike, the only other worker at Be Kind Rewind. Now Mike is a very competent worker who wants to impress Mr. Fletcher with his skills but one thing lets him down- his idiotic friend Jerry.

Of course, everything goes horribly wrong for Mike thanks to Jerry being magnetized and therefore accidentally erasing all of the tapes in the store. If there are no tapes, there's no business so Mike resorts to desperate measures to save Be Kind Rewind- recreating every movie in the store with each of them starring him and Jerry. The film doesn't take itself very seriously with the whole magnetized plotline being only a silly setup for the recreation of the tapes as it is cleared up within a matter of minutes.

Be Kind Rewind is definitely one of those films where you need at least a moderate understanding of films in the 80s-90s era to get most of the jokes. The positive side to all of this is that if you understand the references then the jokes are brilliant. From spoofing the Ghostbusters intro to remaking the Lion King, the jabs at classics never stop. These remakes make up the core of the film but the original concept never seemed to get boring or repetitive as you always keep guessing as to what film will be remade next. These films are dubbed as 'Sweded' (this is used as a way to get more money for the store by saying that are specially exported from Sweden). It's also interesting to see the films develop throughout the community of the small town. The townspeople start to act in the films and they become a part of their daily lives.

This sense of community really drives the story, especially in the final act, and brings the message of human achievement to the forefront. The characters in the film are also very likable as Jerry is quirky and hilarious and Mike is a generally normal employee who becomes much more thanks to the films. Their on screen chemistry is simply brilliant and true, which of course is necessary as they are on screen practically the whole film. Jack Black and Mos Def truly give outstanding performances here.

Michel Gondry is also a great director as his passion for films truly shows in each and every Sweded shot of the film. Gondry is usually known for this strange films and while this is far more down to earth than his other works, it still has that unusual, quirky element to it that makes it stand out from the crowd. Gondry's passion ends up as the one of the main reasons why Be Kind Rewind is such a fantastic film in the first place as it would never work without the true love for film.

Be Kind Rewind is essentially one of the best tribute acts ever created, a parody to end all parodies if you will. The film manages to satisfy its promise of recreating classics while also giving a surprisingly gripping subplot of the musical history of the town that drives the moving final act. Be Kind Rewind is amazing but in a different way than most other loved movies. If you have a passion, a love, for movies then Be Kind Rewind will be right up your alley. Be Kind Rewind isn't just a movie. Be Kind Rewind is a movie that loves movies.