Be Kind, Rewind Movie Review

Michel Gondry's Movie Loses the Laughs when It should Lose the Plot

Feb 24, 2008

Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and Melonie Diaz star in a film with huge comedy potential but ends up being sentimental

Tearjerker Plot Works against Comedy

Why does Hollywood demand a plot in a movie when it works against the laughs? In Be Kind, Rewind, the latest offering directed and written by Michel Gondry, you get the feeling that if the characters had more time to develop their film ideas and their characters, the film would have been a great hit.

Plotlines are a huge favourite with Hollywood. Figuratively, if one draws a line through this film, it will be mostly flat at the beginning, start a steep rise when Mos Def and Jack Black film their crazy remakes and then suddenly flop down again when Mr. Fletcher returns, taking the film into a predictable sentimental end. A pity really, as Be Kind, Rewind has huge comedy potential, with sufficient screwball talent to deliver something truly fantastic.

Homage to Screwball Comedies & Classic Greats

Be Kind, Rewind revolves around an old video shop in Passaic, New Jersey, in danger of being demolished. The owner, Mr. Fletcher leaves the shop in the care of Mike (Mos Def) while he goes incognito, to research other stores. Mike and Jerry (Jack Black) find themselves doing their crazy remakes of films when Jerry accidentally erases all the videotapes with his new magnetic power (watch the film to find out how this happens).

The remakes are the jewel of this film; the moment Jerry and Mike let the camera roll on their make-believe version of Ghost Busters, is when all hell breaks loose. It is side-splitting stuff. Well, almost. Ghost Busters seems to be the best of the lot. The other remakes are not so inspiring, it makes one wonder if this film had copyright issues, or if Michel Gondry and his actors ran out of ideas. There is a treasure trove of films to borrow from, yet Michel Gondry only picks a handful: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Last Tango in Paris and Lion King being some of them. One has a sneaky suspicion that Lion King would have been hilarious, if only the director and cast try harder at polishing their gags.

Mos Def & Jack Black as Comedy Duo

Mos Def and Jack Black somehow never pull off their low IQ characters convincingly – the comedy falls flat here. Perhaps the chemistry was lacking. Or the script was poor. Either way this is a film that, if pushed to the limit, would have been a lot more sparkling then the middle-of-the-ground route it ends up taking. A lot of the film focuses on a jazz singer named Fat Williams and the town of Passaic itself. This supposedly takes the audience on a sentimental journey, which culminates in Mike and Jerry creating their own original black-and-white movie. Unfortunately, this soppy focus kills the laughs and makes tears out of them instead. Did the filmmakers think this was going to attract an older crowd interested in jazz music and its history? Or a younger crowd well-versed in movies? Go figure. But it misses the mark either way. (By the way, Sigourney Weaver makes a cameo appearance, one much uncalled for. One wonders if she is not getting better work elsewhere?)

Improvising is Better

The most ingenious type of comedy can work on a thin plot yet deliver loads of laughs. If Mos Def and Jack Black take their characters on a wilder, more unpredictable journey with their film remakes it can surely spark a whole lot of good comedy. Director handholding is one of those things that will fail to work here, improvisation is king. Audiences expecting much more with these crazy ‘sweded’ remakes will have a lot more reason to jump out of their seats for.

Sentimental Plot Loses Steam

Michel Gondry’s homage to old films and film noir will produce a more sentimental effect without the constant harping on Passaic and jazz. Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and Melonie Diaz deliver believable performances, with just the right dose of depth and quirkiness, but the film fails to shine as the ‘wacko’ factor is largely missing here. Michel Gondry’s film could do with a re-write and a lot more slack, so that the two lead actors can take this film on an unforgettable and wild journey.

The copyright of the article Be Kind, Rewind Movie Review in Comic Films is owned by Lynette S.K. Webster. Permission to republish Be Kind, Rewind Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.