Imagination takes flight in Michel Gondry's 'Be Kind Rewind'

Published: February 22, 2008

French writer-director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) takes audiences on a sweetly nostalgic and wildly imaginative flight of fancy with his new film, "Be Kind Rewind.”

The surreal setup requires serious suspension of disbelief, but the payoff is a cheery affirmation of the power of community and creativity.

Set and filmed on location in Passaic, N.J., the film focuses on a rundown video rental/junk store called Be Kind Rewind, where VHS tapes, not DVDs, line the shelves. The store's owner, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), loves the store, which is purported to be the birthplace of his hero, jazz legend Fats Waller.

The city is less than infatuated with the dilapidated building and plans to raze it if Mr. Fletcher can't come up with the money for massive improvements.

When Mr. Fletcher makes a pilgrimage to Kansas City to a Fats Waller festival, he goes with a plan to scope out big rental chain outlets for money-making ideas. He leaves his assistant, Mike (Mos Def), in charge of the store, and Mike, who regards Mr. Fletcher as a surrogate father, takes the responsibility seriously.

But the situation at the store becomes chaotic when Mike's best friend, the oddball Jerry (Jack Black), tries to sabotage the local power plant. Jerry lives next to the plant and believes it is killing him with microwaves.

Jerry gets an electromagnetic jolt and a magnetized brain in his sabotage attempt. When he visits Mike at the store, his magnetized brain erases all the VHS tapes.

When the store's most loyal customer, Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) shows up to rent "Ghostbusters,” which she has never seen, Mike and Jerry desperately remake a 20-minute version at the local library, using an old video camera, tinfoil costumes and a few cheap props.

Miss Falewicz doesn't know the difference, but local teens who see the tape think it's funny and want to rent more titles. Jerry and Mike recruit sharp-tongued Alma (Melonie Diaz), who works at the dry cleaners, to help them remake "The Lion King,” "RoboCop” and other films. They dub the movies "sweded,” as in from Sweden, to justify the added costs and wait times.

Soon, the entire neighborhood is involved in sweding films.

Gondry's fanciful story gets high points for its unbridled originality and feel-good message about the power of art. The stellar cast gets able assistance from local extras, and their efforts to make the sweded films are hilarious. (Jerry's directing work on the sweded version of "King Kong” is particularly fun.)

"Be Kind Rewind” isn't for everyone, but those yearning for a whimsical fantasy set in the real world will be kind to Gondry's vision.

— Brandy McDonnell

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