In theory, Be Kind Rewind can’t fail. First of all, the story at its bare bones sounds fantastic: after inadvertently erasing all the video tapes in their VHS rental business, two friends set about remaking just about every big hit movie on a non-existent budget. Second, the actors are all people you’d walk ten miles through the snow barefoot during a hurricane to see: the manic Jack Black as the manic Jerry, Danny Glover as the charmingly out of date Mr. Fletcher, and – most importantly – Mos Def as Mike, who is an actor who feels right in just about anything he tries. And third, it’s written and directed by Michel Gondry, the wunderkind behind the camera of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005), as well as music videos for Björk, The White Stripes, and Radiohead.

 

But, as Homer Simpson once reminded us all, in theory Communism works. (“…in theory.”) And, like Communism, it’s not just disappointing but also a bit frustrating that the theory doesn’t work out for Be Kind Rewind.

 

 

Def plays Mike, the clerk at a videotape rental store in Passaic, New Jersey. The store is run by Mr. Fletcher, who seems like the world’s most incompetent business owner, or at least the world’s most out of touch video rental business owner (he’s only just heard of DVDs). Nevertheless, the store floats above the bankruptcy line thanks to a stream of loyal customers, who include Miss Falewicz (as played by Mia Farrow in a flustery role that seems oddly pretty natural) and the deeply paranoid Jerry. Things are trundling on as always until Mr. Fletcher leaves town to do some “market research” (mostly trying to work out what DVDs are), at which point Jerry goes and gets himself magnetised at the local power plant during a bungled sabotage attempt, enters the video store, and then unwittingly wipes all the tapes. In order to save the business from extinction, it’s up to Mike and Jerry to remake all the erased movies themselves – a strategy that instantly pays off, with the store quickly becoming the hottest spot in town. These remaking scenes are easily the funniest of the movie, with everything from Rush Hour 2 (featuring Black doing Jackie Chan in the vein of Al Jolsen) to 2001: A Space Odyssey getting the treatment.

 

 

It’s the kind of plot that barely makes sense on paper and relies entirely on the skill of the director to sell it. Unfortunately, something about Be Kind Rewind just doesn’t work. The motivations driving these characters are totally inexplicable even within their world, and as a result the absolutely random events that ensue are hardly engaging. What’s more, the story is just too messy for its own good – in addition to the aforementioned plot, Gondry has chucked in a lazy section about greedy property developers and copyright infringement, and interlaced it all with an awkward tribute to jazz legend Fats Waller. Add to this some rampant over-scoring from composer Jean-Michel Bernard (who seems to think he’s doing an Ivan Reitman flick), and you’re left with a pile of nice ideas that never seem to pull themselves together into anything great.

 

The acting is fine and done with a lot of heart – you want to care for Mr. Fletcher’s struggle to keep himself afloat, just like you want to feel all warm and fuzzy at the bloated climax. But you can’t. Everything that happens in Be Kind Rewind is oddly unengaging, and seems to be taking place somewhere way off in the distance. It’s a nice enough distraction, but ultimately a hollow one – my only suggestion: that maybe someone try to remake it.

 

Be Kind Rewind is on DVD release now.