Jack Black and Mos Def play the two main leads in this bizarre comedy that is definitely heaping piles of quantity over any kind of quality.So the story goes that Mike (Def) is a worker in a little VHS rental corner store, owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). After Mr. Fletcher leaves the store in Mike's hands for the duration of his trip to a memorial, Mike's friend Jerry (Black) wanders in and promptly erases all the tapes due to having become magnetized in a power plant accident. Because why not. And now they're in a jam because people still have to be able to rent the tapes, the store being in financial troubles as it is. The solution? Film your own zero-budget replicas of course.Okay, that doesn't sound that bad. It could work. The problem I have with this film is that it doesn't know how to focus on few key things. Instead it tries to throw everything and the kitchen sink at us and hopes that something sticks. First we have the buddy comedy between two friends, then we have the weird magnet parahuman ability Jerry acquires (which is barely addressed after the first scene), the financial troubles of the store, the circumstances of the poor New Jersey neighbourhood, the state of the VHS versus DVD, and last but not least this weird fixation the film has with this dead real- life jazz musician Fats Wallers, which ends up stealing the whole film towards the end with no explanation given for the weird shift in focus nor mood.And sure, there are comedies that have no focus, wandering around freely, while still managing to work quite well. Monty Python comes to mind. But with those you usually have something of an overarching plot, which is then littered with bizarre details. The story of King Arthur. The story of not-Jesus. This movie could be said to be about saving the store through bizarre events, but it's not immediately apparent from the start and the ending would argue that it's about quite something else. Plus with Monty Python the details are so far out of the left field that you don't even try to make any kind of sense out of them. Here the movie teeters just on the edge of almost having internal logic, but simply failing at it. Which is much more frustrating.In the end Be Kind Rewind didn't leave much of an impression with me. Black and Def had some funny moments, but the overall structure was too chaotic for my tastes and the story wasn't all that interesting. Worth a watch if you're a die-hard fan of Black, otherwise there are better movies out there.

This has become a sort of cult classic in recent times, so I thought i'd give it a watch. What a waste of time that was. It's got a very likable cast, and yet the script isn't that funny, and the film drags, despite actually having quite a short running time in the first place. I went into this film with an open mind, but in the end I didn't find myself caring about any of the characters as they were so thinly written.The central premise is good, but there are just too many moments of dullness that you really don't end up caring whether they save the video shop or not.This will not be a film i'd rush to see again.

This wasn't what I thought it was going to be, a typical goofy antic filled Jack Black mugging at the camera film, (which is what I usually like). It was surprisingly deep and meaningful. It gave itself a message, a decent story, great and funny characters, and nonstop fun for the family.Mr Fletcher, (Danny Glover) the owner of a VHS store "Be Kind Rewind" goes out of town and leaves the store in charge of his employee Mike, (Mos Def). His friend Jerry, (Jack Black) has an encounter with a power plant and becomes magnetized, in inadvertently erasing all the tapes in the store. They then come up with the bright idea of recreating them to improvise. Soon they become more popular for their recreations, and make a profit out of "Sweding".Jack Black manages to play himself similar in other films, but stands out in this film for actually portraying an attitude other than acting crazy. Mos Def leads the film by being in charge of the film, and stands out well from Jack Black. They altogether make a great pair. Danny Glover is just going along for the ride throughout the whole film. The film pays great tribute to the history of Fats Waller, a famous jazz musician, dedicating a film to him.The best parts are the remakes of the film. They remake some of my favorite parts in great films like Rush Hour 2, Ghostbusters, Lion King, etc. Those parts are hilarious to watch. The references are everywhere, but still greatly portrayed by Black and Def.Altogether it was really fun. It has a lot of rewatch value and a lot of memorable moments in general. This is probably one of Black's best performances, he's hilarious. I'd recommend this if you like to see your favorite films get remade by Jack Black and Mos Def, enough said.

Following his magnetic polarization in a freak electrical accent, Jerry (Jack Black) ruins his friend Mike's (Mos Def) video store by erasing all the existing tapes. Now forced with the threat of an angry store owner (Danny Glover), Mike and Jerry team up to re-shoot their inventory and market the films off as their own. Jack Black is undoubtedly one of the funniest human beings ever to act in a movie, but he does so by also being a good actor. It's rare to see that combination in a comedian, the last time it was so clear was with the late John Candy, may he rest in peace. The thing is, I could see John Candy in a film like this were he still with us. This film sees the return of Michael Gondry, the immensely talented director who brought us "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Human Nature". This offering is different than his previous work. The script is less spunk and more soul. The friendships made by these characters feel as real as if the actors themselves were just as good friends. "Be Kind Rewind" is a funny film with a genuinely unique concept. The performances were spot-on and the plot kept me watching. Well done.