Remaking it happen

So I'm finally getting around to the final spring break movie I saw; Be Kind Rewind. And like the adage goes, I ended up saving the best for last.

While not a perfect movie, the film's core idea is what drives it to success. For the unaware, Mike (Mos Def) is a video store clerk, who is best friends with Jerry (Jack Black), who is a little on the crazy side. After Jerry unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the local power plant, he becomes magnetized and ends up erasing every single VHS tape in Mike's store when he visits him. In order to save the store, the two friends decide to make their own versions of the films and sell them to customers. Lo and behold, their remakes (they refer to them as 'sweeded' versions of the originals) become a huge hit with the local townspeople.

Seeing Mike and Jerry remake classic films is where the money is at in terms of this film. We get to see them do their versions of such films as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, Boyz N the Hood, and Driving Miss Daisy. The two have a real chemistry and the scenes involving their filmmaking are a riot to watch. Their versions are skewed just enough to make them funny, yet realistic enough for you to understand what movie they are doing. In addition to being hilarious, I found it interesting to watch their creativity in making these sweeded versions. It gave you a nice insight into the lengths people will go to try and make unreal scenarios seem realistic. In an age where all the visual effects seem to be computerized, it was nice to see a call out to the classic methods of filmmaking.

As Jerry and Mike's films grow in popularity, they bring on other people to help them out. Most notably is the dry cleaner's sister, Alma. Played by newcomer Melonie Diaz, Alma is hired by the guys to start playing the female roles in their films. She ends up bringing an added level of excitement to the filmmaking scenes. This was a character that was clearly going nowhere in her current job and we see how these films end up bringing out the best in her. There are hints of a possible romance between her and Mike, but sadly this subplot never truly gets developed.

That lack of subplot development ends up being the film's one flaw. Directed by Michel Gondry, the films ends up leaving too many ideas up to the audience's imagination. Gondry is best known for directing the quirky film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Known for his stylistic direction, I feel he was a bad fit for this film. Typically, I will criticize directors for hammering the audience over the head with the film's story, but the opposite is true here. There are too many loose threads that Gondry never delves into. For instance, there appears to be some sort of connection between the VHS store owner (played by Danny Glover) and the kooky Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who frequents the store and is the first to rent one of the fellas sweeded films. Having an concrete idea of what their relationship is/was might have added another dimension to those characters.

The simplistic approach that Gondry takes is annoyingly noticeable in the film's final scenes. After the government shuts down Mike and Jerry's versions of copyrighted films (another subplot that could have been further developed), the store creates one original film that involves the entire town, in the hopes that the screening of the film will generate enough money to keep the store from being torn down. The film ends with the screening of this film and no sense of resolution. I can respect when directors want to end on an ambiguous note, but that only works when you leave certain questions unanswered. The end of this film answers nothing. It seems to insinuate that having everyone come together to work on and then watch this film is enough of a happy ending. Nevermind the fact that we have no idea what happens to any of the characters that we have become invested in over the past hour and a half.

It is hard to say at this point whether successive viewings of this film may soften or harden my criticism of the film's flat ending. On one hand, knowing what to expect may make it easier to digest on future viewings. On the other hand, seeing a lack of resolution over and over again may just cause a buildup of frustration.

Overall, I think the fun and enjoyment that is experienced watching these two friends make these new versions of classic films is predominate enough to recommend this film to others. Since this concept is focused on for the majority of the film, it is likely that the film's flaws won't be that noticeable. Perhaps I have done a disservice by pointing out what annoyed me about this film in this review. However, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't express all of my thoughts on the films I review.

This film was only given a limited release when it first came out, so it's unlikely that you'll be able to find it in a theater at this point. My best suggestion would be to check it out in a couple of months when it's released on DVD. Who knows, maybe someone will agree with me that the film is underdeveloped in certain spots and end up making their own sweeded version of this movie. I know that there are certainly worse things that have been created and put on the Internet. Grade: B