Celebrated French filmmaker Michel Gondry returns once again to America for his latest film 'Be Kind Rewind"; a comedy starring Jack Black and Mos Def.
'Be Kind Rewind" is typical Gondry fair. Mad, silly and surprisingly a lot of fun. The plot and situations, laced with Gondry’s famed imagination, is at times so outrageous it defies belief.
After Jerry becomes magnetised in a disastrous accident involving a power plant, he unwittingly erases all the videotapes in the run down store his best friend Mike works in.
When suddenly a customer demands to see 'Ghost Busters", Jerry and Mike decide to remake the film themselves in order to save Mike’s job. The result although woeful, proves to be a highly successful hit and soon Mike and Jerry are busy remaking the entire video catalogue.
Jack Black as Jerry really made me laugh and Mos Def is really good as the hopelessly thick best friend Mike. It is a fun comedy pairing as Black is so over the top and ridiculous while Def plays it more low key.
This is not Michel Gondry’s best film, though it had a simplicity and lightness that I was definitely in the mood for.
The narrative did lack depth and wit. It never really equalled the greatness he achieved in his collaboration with the talented Charlie Kaufman on 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
I really got the feeling with 'Be Kind Rewind" that Gondry’s main motive was to entertain and for the first half he definitely achieved that. However the film does fall away towards the end as it tended to rely too heavily on the one joke. And that joke does require a pretty good knowledge of the films being referenced.
'Be Kind Rewind" is colourful, full of imagination and laced with clever visual gags that are simply executed. It doesn’t require much deep thought or commitment, just a willingness to be entertained.
This will not be everyone’s cup of tea though.
For those who like their comedies high paced and silly this one will please, 3 stars.
