Be Kind Rewind by Michel Gondry
Movie Review - Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover Build a Community
Review of Be Kind Rewind from director Michel Gondry. Contains brief plot synopsis.
Set in a dismal-looking New Jersey city called Passaic, Be Kind, Rewind shows the value of creativity and the arts in restoring hope to life. The film has had mixed reviews, and parts of the plot seem unnecessary, but overall the message is important and fresh. Worth seeing for the entertainment value, the philosophy, or both.
Plot of Be Kind Rewind - Spoiler!
Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) takes a week off from his failing video tape rental business in a condemned building and leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge. Mike's eccentric friend Jerry (Jack Black), through a rather contrived plot device, erases every video in the store.
Frantically, Mike and Jerry scramble to carry on the business. They start re-filming their own versions of the popular movies their customers want, starting with Ghostbusters. This becomes incredibly popular and by the end of the week there is a steadily growing new customer base.
The bubble bursts as the realities of the outside world intrude. Mr. Fletcher comes home and they face the inevitable demolition of the building. The movie ends with the showing of Mike and Jerry's final production, a biography of Fats Waller.
What's Good About Be Kind Rewind
Despite a few contrived plot devices, particularly Jerry's shenanigans at the beginning of the film, this is a movie with heart and a brilliant message.
The theme is that with creativity, humans can make their circumstances bearable. Perhaps it is more akin to the teachings of Victor Frankl, that we choose our reaction to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Instead of passively lying down and letting themselves be pushed into a corner, the characters in Be Kind Rewind use their imagination and what few resources they have. In so doing, they build a sense of community in a down-hearted, down-trodden place.
The Value of the Arts in Society
In modern western life there are two disturbing phenomena. One is the perception that the arts are a frivolous luxury, and that they should be run on a user-pay system, or some model that doesn't need public funding. The other is the trend toward professionalism and specialization.
For some expressive forms, the internet has provided an alternative, letting writers, filmmakers and musicians take their work directly to the public through the total disintermediation of art. But the internet is not a panacea.
What Be Kind Rewind demonstrates is that every human has a creative spark within him. It doesn't matter what your education is or what you do for a living.
A Comedy with Entertainment Value
Viewers with no interest in the big message can still enjoy Be Kind Rewind.It is funny, touching and engaging. Not a chick flick, but there is a little bit of a romantic tone. Fats Waller fans should like the historic commentary about the man and his times - just don't base a term paper on it.
