Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 126
Fresh: 83 | Rotten: 43
Slighter and less disciplined than Gondry's previous mind-benders.
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 15
Slighter and less disciplined than Gondry's previous mind-benders.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 188,491
My Rating
Movie Info
When a bumbling movie lover becomes magnetized while attempting to sabotage a local power plant and accidentally erases all of the videotapes in the small video store where his best friend works, the pair attempt to keep the store's loyal customer base by remaking as many of the top-renting movies as possible. Mike (Mos Def) is an employee at Be Kind Rewind, a modest mom and pop video store that is owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). Mike's best friend Jerry (Jack Black) works in an auto
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Cast
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Jack Black
Jerry -
Mos Def
Mike -
Danny Glover
Mr. Fletcher -
Mia Farrow
Miss Falewicz -
Melonie Diaz
Alma -
Chandler Parker
Craig -
Irv Gooch
Wilson -
Arjay Smith
Manny -
Marcus Carl Franklin
Kid 1 -
Blake Hightower
Kid 2 -
Amir Ali Said
Kid 3 -
Sigourney Weaver
Ms. Lawson
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Be Kind Rewind Trailer & Photos
All Critics (128) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (86) | Rotten (44) | DVD (6)
It's hard to get too cranky about a movie that, at heart, is a tribute to the joy of making things with your friends.
Top CriticTakes a clever concept and cobbles a weak story around it.
Long before the movie ends, it slips right off the sprockets.
Be Kind Rewind declares that the riches of cinema history touch each of us personally. Films become so deep a part of us that we own them that our memories of them, whether faithful or fanciful, become their meanings.
Give Be Kind Rewind a little time and an open mind, and it just might grow on you. Its premise is absurd, but adorably so.
Thick stew of awful.
What a foul junkyard of Quirk it is!
A glowing valentine to creativity in opposition to commerce.
Sua natureza auto-referencial transforma o filme numa grande homenagem ao próprio cinema.
Be Kind Rewind should gather dust on both DVD and VHS shelves.
Once the movie starts finding its focus it becomes a very unique experience
A surprisingly quiet and whimsical comedy about a ridiculous and unlikely series of events that turns into a nearly-as-likely miracle. Best bit: the film's own Sweded preview.
An ode to finding one's creative side and the joys of being able to share one's creations with others.
Nothing can save this overambitious enterprise embarked upon by a couple of idiots, full of sound and fury but ultimately signifying nothing.
Tackles the hackneyed with the tender hand and heart of writer/director Michel Gondry.
For Michel Gondry, [the film] becomes a kind of folk art spin on Hollywood gloss and a tribute to his own preferred style of filmmaking...
But with a skill that is difficult to pinpoint, Gondry seems to stumble like a fox from this paper-thin plot into a precious little ode to community.
Good-hearted and intelligent, Be Kind Rewind still lacks for the gravitas of The Science of Sleep.
A people's cinema rough cut heart so squarely in the right place over in Passaic as opposed to Hollywood, that it's pretty much hard to resist.
Director Michel Gondry delivers the first great film of 2008.
'Be Kind Rewind' is a whimsical adventure with genuine affection for its characters, but Gondry's story is essentially weightless, a fanciful flight in search of a raison d'etre.
Audience Reviews for Be Kind Rewind
Super Reviewer
Surprisingly, their no-budget remakes become a hit and actually start to help bring the store out of decline. There are some other issues being dealt with in the film though, and that's both positive and negative. This film tries to do a lot of things, perhaps too many. Not only is it about Sweding, but it also tackles the economic decline of Passaic, New Jersey, and its multicultural population. It also deals with an original film about Fats Waller that Mike and Jerry and the neighborhood residents are forced to make due to legal issues.
You can't fault Gondry for trying to be ambitious, but I think the film is a little overstuffed and a bit undercooked in places as a result. The remake scenes actually aren't really the focus, despite what the marketing campaign would have you believe. Those sequences are some of the best in the film though, especially the single take montage wherein a half dozen films get Sweded.
The film does have his usual, whimsical, quirky touches, and you can really tell this is a film that was designed to strike a chord with anyone who ever tried to make a film regardless of talent, money, or various other factors. This is all about making do with what you have, and that's really why this film works so well. It's just too damn charming not to enjoy.
Jack Black gets manic, but his performance here is closer to High Fidelity than his usual shtick. Def, despite being somewhat unintelligible at times, is also pretty good, and I really like seeing him work as an actor, even though his music career is his real strength. Danny Glover and Mia Farrow give some really fun supporting roles, as does Melonie Diaz. Of course, a little Sigourney Weaver cameo doesn't hurt either.
All in all, a good, but choppy little piece of work. Despite its shortcomings, I really do dig this, and definitely give it a solid recommendation.
Super Reviewer
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- Jerry: When you're walking down the street, and you see a little ghost. What'cha gonna do, you call Ghostbustasssssss!
- Mike: What's that?
- Jerry: Its the Ghostbusters theme song.
- Mike: No, it's not.
- Jerry: I'm pretty sure it is.
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- Jerry: This calls for Robocop.
- Mike: This calls for Robocop to get shot!
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- Jerry: I will shoot you, and I know robot karate.
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- Jerry: Anything you will be held against you in the court of robocop.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Be Kind Rewind
June 16, 2008:
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February 24, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vantage Point Claims Top Spot on Oscar WeekendOn Oscar weekend, the best seat on the charts belonged to Vantage Point, which looked down upon the...
February 22, 2008:
Michel Gondry "Swedes" His Own Be Kind Rewind TrailerAs if bringing the phrase "sweded" into the lexicon wasn't enough, Be Kind Rewind director Michel...
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Foreign Titles
- Soyez sympas, rembobinez (FR)
- Rebobine, por favor (ES)
Be Kind Rewind has a decent enough storyline but it's ultimate strength is in the sweet subtext, it's heartfelt quirkiness and surrealist indie stylings. But in equal measure the belly laughs along the way. A lot of people dislike this film but what Michel Gondry is trying to express through it is one simple message, movie's are better when you do them yourself. That little meaningful movies recorded on a camcorder by anyone can be equally as important as commercialist big budget blockbusters.