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Movies / On DVD / Be Kind Rewind
Be Kind Rewind

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Be Kind Rewind (2008)

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Reviews Counted:124

Fresh:81

Rotten:43

Average Rating:6.3/10

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some sexual references.

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Feb 22, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $11,028,439

Synopsis: Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering, BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic, New Jersey, the comedy centers on two of the town's residents:... Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering, BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic, New Jersey, the comedy centers on two of the town's residents: trouble-making Jerry (Jack Black) and well-meaning Mike (Mos Def). Mike works in a video store in an age where the VHS is long dead, but the store's owner, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), doesn't seem to be in any hurry to change. When Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a trip, he entrusts his store to Mike with one piece of advice: don't let Jerry in the store. But after some mischief, Jerry returns to the store in a strange state. Not only is he weirder than usual, but he's also magnetized, which causes the entire store's stock to be erased. In order to keep the struggling business afloat, Mike and Jerry begin remaking the films in the store one by one. Their hilariously low-budget versions of films such as GHOSTBUSTERS and RUSH HOUR 2 soon begin to draw attention and business to the store, but that creates a whole new set of problems for the pair. Though Gondry's three previous fiction films--HUMAN NATURE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP--were all essentially love stories, BE KIND REWIND captures another kind of romance. Both the writer-director and his characters are in love with the cinematic medium itself, and their devotion shows. BE KIND REWIND doesn't reach the heights of ETERNAL SUNSHINE, but it doesn't seem to be aiming for that genius. This is simply a hilarious comedy, fun for film fans of all stripes, which celebrates the sheer joy of watching and making films. [More]

Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow

Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, Chandler Parker, Irv Gooch, Arjay Smith, Marcus Carl Franklin

Director: Michel Gondry

Director: Michel Gondry
Producer: Michel Gondry, Julie Fong, Georges Bermann
Composer: Jean Michel Bernard
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Release:

Jun 17, 2008

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Reviews for Be Kind Rewind

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat

Fernando F. Croce

What a foul junkyard of Quirk it is!

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 27 2009 12:56 AM

CinePassion

tomato
5/5

Rob Gonsalves

A glowing valentine to creativity in opposition to commerce.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 07 2009 06:26 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato
4/5

Pablo Villaca

Sua natureza auto-referencial transforma o filme numa grande homenagem ao próprio cinema.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 11 2008 11:38 PM

Cinema em Cena

splat
1/4

Christian Toto

Be Kind Rewind should gather dust on both DVD and VHS shelves.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Aug., 01 2008 06:46 AM

Washington Times

tomato
3/4

Austin Kennedy

Once the movie starts finding its focus it becomes a very unique experience

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 22 2008 12:56 PM

Sin Magazine

tomato
3/5

Karina Montgomery

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 17 2008 10:30 PM

Cinerina

tomato
10/10

Jeffrey Chen

An ode to finding one's creative side and the joys of being able to share one's creations with others.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 11 2008 09:26 AM

Window to the Movies

tomato
3.5/4

Willie Waffle

Tackles the hackneyed with the tender hand and heart of writer/director Michel Gondry.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 20 2008 09:23 PM

WaffleMovies.com

tomato
3/5

Robert Davis

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 09 2008 12:25 PM

Paste Magazine

tomato

Richard Knight

Director Michel Gondry delivers the first great film of 2008.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 22 2008 05:38 PM

Windy City Times

splat
2.5/4

Rossiter Drake

'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.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Apr., 09 2008 10:54 PM

San Francisco Examiner

tomato
C+

Robert Roten

It's central message is that filmmakers are wonderful people, which is pretty much what you would expect filmmakers to say.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Mar., 26 2008 12:31 PM

Laramie Movie Scope

tomato

Cynthia Fuchs

The process of Sweding soon becomes a community project, another glance back and ahead at the same time.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 21 2008 09:09 AM

PopMatters

splat

Rob Humanick

Ultimately trades in schmaltz of the unearned kind.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2008 11:51 PM

Projection Booth

tomato
3/5

Kim Newman

The remake/parody sequences are outstanding, but Black’s all-over-the-place mania and Mos Def’s bland orphan hero don’t quite tie the rest of the picture together. Still, it has heart.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2008 12:03 AM

Empire Magazine Australasia

splat
2/5

Margaret Pomeranz

And the film ought to be funny, with Mike and Jerry recreating those films as home movies. But somehow it’s not, the laughs are very thin on the ground.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Mar., 19 2008 10:06 PM

At the Movies (Australia)

splat

Urban Cinefile Critics

Brilliant ideas dance on the high side of Creative Street, but Michel Gondry's outlandish premise doesn't stretch far enough to go the distance.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 16 2008 08:43 PM

Urban Cinefile

splat
2/4

Matt Brunson

The premise of Be Kind Rewind is pure Michel Gondry. The end result is anything but.

Full Review Source: | comment 3 Comments | Mar., 16 2008 10:16 AM

Creative Loafing

splat
2.5/4

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

quirky

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2008 03:56 PM

sbs.is

tomato
3/4

Sean O'Connell

corny, cool and beautiful

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2008 04:39 AM

Charlotte Weekly

 
 
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Latest News for Be Kind Rewind

June 25, 2008: 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. Opens in new window
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