By Mike Stuart
22/02/2008
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 101 minutes
The idea behind Be Kind Rewind is fantastic – two buddies, Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def), accidentally wipe all the videos in the store that Mike works in and decide to recreate them on the shoddy equipment they have available. Their low-budget versions of films like Ghostbusters, Driving Miss Daisy, and Rush Hour 2 prove to be a hit in their neighbourhood and suddenly the video store is doing better business than ever. And if the idea doesn't excite you enough, the guy who directed it is Michel Gondry – responsible for the sublime Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
With all those contributing factors, it'd be reasonable assume that we might have a comedy classic on our hands. But, unfortunately, we don't. That's not to say that Be Kind Rewind is a bad film – it's entertaining enough – but it just doesn't quite live up to its promise. Jack Black is capable of comedic brilliance (he proved as much in School of Rock) but his performance in this is uneven. Mos Def, however, proves once more that he should probably hang up his acting shoes and get back in the studio.
If there's one thing you can't fault Michel Gondry for, it's originality. Clearly, he has it in spades. As you would expect from Gondry, Be Kind Rewind is stunning visually and there are some fantastic set pieces. It has some good laughs and it has heart but it's hard not to see it as somewhat of a missed opportunity.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Be Kind Rewind is released in the UK on February 22nd 2008
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
