In a time where DVD formats continue advancing to new, higher levels of quality, it becomes quite easy to forget about that clunky old black box: the VHS tape.
“Be Kind Rewind,” starring Jack Black and Mos Def, centers around this dead technology in an endearing comedy about how our cherished past can come to clash with the looming future.
Jack Black, in one of his most bizarre roles to date, plays Jerry, a certifiably insane conspiracy theorist that lives in a trailer right next to a power plant. He is so crazy, in fact, that he wears a metal colander on his head to block out the power plant’s mind control waves. His favorite haunt is the local video store, also named Be Kind Rewind, which is owned by Mr. Fletcher (played by Danny Glover) and Jerry’s best friend, Mike (Mos Def).
The old Be Kind Rewind video store sits on a street corner in Passaic, New Jersey, slapped with several building code violations and set for demolition. In doing so, however, Mr. Fletcher and Mike would have no recourse but to move to the projects. The only thing keeping the condemned shop/house standing is a shaky story that hometown hero and 1920’s jazz musician, Fats Waller, was born in that very house.
By some freak accident involving the power plant, Jerry becomes magnetized after receiving a (what should have been a fatal) bout of electrocution.
Jerry returns to the store and his clumsiness and eccentricity, in conjunction with his magnetized state, ensure that all the video tapes in the store are erased.
Rather than face the music, and close up shop, Jerry and Mike instead begin to remake the films requested by customers, with the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz) and later, the entire neighborhood. In an effort to increase revenue for the store at the same time, they charge a premium price for their “Sweded” films.
What is “Sweded?”
Why, it’s the newest import from Sweden, hence the high price of $20 for a membership at Be Kind Rewind. Jerry uses the term “Sweded” to describe their remade films.
As Mia Farrow’s character, Miss Falewicz, puts it, the movies that Jerry and Mike make have “heart and soul,” which I find very hard to disagree with.
Somewhere between the sheer lack of planning of the Sweded films and the ridiculous reenactments, “Be Kind Rewind” really got to the heart of “Robocop,” “Rush Hour II,” and even the Academy Award’s Best Picture of 1989, “Driving Miss Daisy.”
We see in the Sweded versions the essence of the films, behind any pretension or pseudo seriousness that comes with many Hollywood blockbusters, not that anyone could take “Ghostbusters” seriously.
As the fad becomes more and more popular in the town of Passaic, Jerry, Mike, and Alma rely increasingly on the help of their customers in the production of their movies. Pretty soon, Sweding movies to keep up with demand becomes a town effort. At this point, Be Kind Rewind becomes less of a business, and more of a means to unite a rundown and poor neighborhood through pride in the films they created together.
“Be Kind Rewind” provides many laughs and that feel-good atmosphere that so many turn to the cinema for. I found it great fun to watch Black and Def act out scenes from so many recognizable movies, using nothing but homemade special effects, in a montage so well blended together, that it almost resembled a production line for movies.
By no means was this movie perfect, and the ending left me asking more than a few questions. However, as a fan of Jack Black and a lover of movies, I was far from disappointed.
For even more fun with the concept, visit www.bekindmovie.com to see Jerry and Mike’s Sweded version of the Internet and watch trailers of all their Sweded movies. I easily spent two hours browsing the site, as there is much more content than there seems. The site even encourages the public to Swede their own movies and submit them to the site.
Now, excuse me while I Swede my take on “The Exorcist.”
