Michel Gondry's new film "Be Kind Rewind" opened this past weekend, starring Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover. Gondry, who won an Oscar for his screenplay to 2005's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", again serves as writer and director of this all-too blatantly whimsical tale about two regular guys from Passaic, NJ.
Def plays Mike, a clerk in a corner video store owned by his surrogate father Mr. Fletcher(Glover) whose video library consists of nothing but old VHS tapes. Not a DVD in sight. When neighboring mechanic Jerry (Black) is suddenly magnetized by a freak accident at a nearby power plant, he inadvertently erases all of the tapes in the store's library. In an effort to replace the now useless tapes, the two amateurs take to videotaping their own 20 minute versions of the stores many titles.
As a former video store clerk myself, I must admit I was really looking forward to this film. The concept was a good one, although after it's viewing I can't help but feel that the idea was about ten years too late and more suited for a skit on a late night comedy show.
The amateur versions of films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Robocop" are genuinely funny, but the intervening dialogue is so quirky and unmotivated that it hardly holds your interest.
Jack Black is a talent and can be quite charming when given the right material, but here his antics appear to be more-of-the-same and at times quite annoying. Def fairs better and is certainly the more likeable protagonist. His Mike is more appealing and sympathetic and his relationship with Glover's Fletcher seems real and genuine. Melonie Diaz has an appealing introduction in the film as a dry cleaning worker turned actress in Black and Def's amateur outings. But she quickly fades into the background as one of the many unrealized characterizations of the script. Along the way Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver somehow show up in small roles that are more distracting then helpful. Many of the unknown actors portraying the eccentric video store customers who eventually get in on the act are more appealing than the star cameos.
The film has a stark realistic urban look to it reminiscent of urban dramas of two decades ago, but the overdrawn characters don't quite fit the set pieces the film has created.
What does work in "Be Kind Rewind" is the wrap-around story of Mr. Fletcher's attempt to save his shop's demolition from urban renewal as well as his infatuation with jazz pianist Fats Waller. Fletcher has fooled Mike into believing his store is the birthplace of the famous jazz great. The eventual plot-turn the Waller story plays in the film's final scenes work well but arrive too late to matter. Yet, Glover's work is the strongest in the film and you can't help but feel for this antique of a character whose only real vice is his fading attempt to hold on to the past.
I really wanted to like this movie. But it felt like I was watching something made many, many years ago that I had always meant to see, but in the end didn't live up to it's reputation. Although I found the film's conclusion rewarding, the often useless meandering by the films other two stars don't allow any genuine moments to add up to much.
Def plays Mike, a clerk in a corner video store owned by his surrogate father Mr. Fletcher(Glover) whose video library consists of nothing but old VHS tapes. Not a DVD in sight. When neighboring mechanic Jerry (Black) is suddenly magnetized by a freak accident at a nearby power plant, he inadvertently erases all of the tapes in the store's library. In an effort to replace the now useless tapes, the two amateurs take to videotaping their own 20 minute versions of the stores many titles.
As a former video store clerk myself, I must admit I was really looking forward to this film. The concept was a good one, although after it's viewing I can't help but feel that the idea was about ten years too late and more suited for a skit on a late night comedy show.
The amateur versions of films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Robocop" are genuinely funny, but the intervening dialogue is so quirky and unmotivated that it hardly holds your interest.
Jack Black is a talent and can be quite charming when given the right material, but here his antics appear to be more-of-the-same and at times quite annoying. Def fairs better and is certainly the more likeable protagonist. His Mike is more appealing and sympathetic and his relationship with Glover's Fletcher seems real and genuine. Melonie Diaz has an appealing introduction in the film as a dry cleaning worker turned actress in Black and Def's amateur outings. But she quickly fades into the background as one of the many unrealized characterizations of the script. Along the way Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver somehow show up in small roles that are more distracting then helpful. Many of the unknown actors portraying the eccentric video store customers who eventually get in on the act are more appealing than the star cameos.
The film has a stark realistic urban look to it reminiscent of urban dramas of two decades ago, but the overdrawn characters don't quite fit the set pieces the film has created.
What does work in "Be Kind Rewind" is the wrap-around story of Mr. Fletcher's attempt to save his shop's demolition from urban renewal as well as his infatuation with jazz pianist Fats Waller. Fletcher has fooled Mike into believing his store is the birthplace of the famous jazz great. The eventual plot-turn the Waller story plays in the film's final scenes work well but arrive too late to matter. Yet, Glover's work is the strongest in the film and you can't help but feel for this antique of a character whose only real vice is his fading attempt to hold on to the past.
I really wanted to like this movie. But it felt like I was watching something made many, many years ago that I had always meant to see, but in the end didn't live up to it's reputation. Although I found the film's conclusion rewarding, the often useless meandering by the films other two stars don't allow any genuine moments to add up to much.
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