Be Kind Rewind (**½)

Directed By: Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Human Nature)
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow
Seen: May 23rd 2008

**½ Out of ****

Michel Gondry has made some mindbenders, and yet this is a pretty straightforward story with merely a very interesting spin on it. Jerry (Jack Black) is a mostly unemployed slacker, who occasionally helps Mike (Mos Def) out at his uncle Elroy’s (Glover) video shop. The shop is in financial ruin, since Elroy refuses to switch to DVD, and when he leaves the store in the hands of Mike when he goes on an out-of-town visit, Jerry, after being magnetized in an amusing sabotage incident, accidentally erase the videos in the shop. To add to their woes, some corporates want to knock the shop down to build a shopping mall, and the only thing that will save the shop is them paying the new and ballooning levies on time.

Not that easy without videos, you may think. But Jerry and Mike find a solution. They film a short, home-made version of Ghostbusters one night, and customers come asking for more. Soon their ‘business’ turns to a “You Name It, We Shoot It” venture, with some interesting takes on some of the big films over the years. But, quite understandably, copyright law and even more rent issues crop up, and as the two start using locals as extras in their films, the corporates become more desperate, and the locals more defensive of Jerry and Mike’s endeavors.

Soon enough court bailiffs arrive and destroy the videos, and Mike also discovers that Fats Waller was not, in fact, born in the store, which truly depresses Mike, since he is fascinated by the legend of Fats Waller, a famous jazz musician from the neighborhood. Their counter – to make a movie about the fictional life of Fats Waller, which turns out to be their most ambitious project to date, and will need most of the local folk to help, giving a true sense of community involvement.

The joys of filmmaking and the fun of enjoying something purely for the fact of it being what it is goes on display here, it pulls you into the story, and you find yourself rooting for the Underdogs (Mike and Jerry) against all odds. But a few good and interesting ideas does not a good film make, and unfortunately this one falls short in really keeping you attentive for the entire running time, only sporadically calling up your attention and drawing you nearer, even though it is quite entertaining.