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Movies / On DVD / Be Kind Rewind
Be Kind Rewind

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Be Kind Rewind (2008)

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Reviews Counted:124

Fresh:81

Rotten:43

Average Rating:6.3/10

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some sexual references.

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:22-02-2008

Synopsis: Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering, BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic, New Jersey, the comedy centers on two of the town's residents:... Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering, BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic, New Jersey, the comedy centers on two of the town's residents: trouble-making Jerry (Jack Black) and well-meaning Mike (Mos Def). Mike works in a video store in an age where the VHS is long dead, but the store's owner, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), doesn't seem to be in any hurry to change. When Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a trip, he entrusts his store to Mike with one piece of advice: don't let Jerry in the store. But after some mischief, Jerry returns to the store in a strange state. Not only is he weirder than usual, but he's also magnetized, which causes the entire store's stock to be erased. In order to keep the struggling business afloat, Mike and Jerry begin remaking the films in the store one by one. Their hilariously low-budget versions of films such as GHOSTBUSTERS and RUSH HOUR 2 soon begin to draw attention and business to the store, but that creates a whole new set of problems for the pair. Though Gondry's three previous fiction films--HUMAN NATURE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP--were all essentially love stories, BE KIND REWIND captures another kind of romance. Both the writer-director and his characters are in love with the cinematic medium itself, and their devotion shows. BE KIND REWIND doesn't reach the heights of ETERNAL SUNSHINE, but it doesn't seem to be aiming for that genius. This is simply a hilarious comedy, fun for film fans of all stripes, which celebrates the sheer joy of watching and making films. [More]

Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow

Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, Chandler Parker, Irv Gooch, Arjay Smith, Marcus Carl Franklin

Director: Michel Gondry

Director: Michel Gondry
Producer: Michel Gondry, Julie Fong, Georges Bermann
Composer: Jean Michel Bernard
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Be Kind Rewind

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Will leave you with a huge grin on your face.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
02/22/08
Sun Online

Lots of heart. But it won't change your life.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
02/22/08
Little White Lies

A film that's sweet and well-intentioned, but with a heart where its brain should be.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/22/08
David Gritten
David Gritten
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The magnitude of Gondry’s visual ingenuity is consistently jaw-dropping.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/22/08
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There’s just enough whimsical good humour to carry Be Kind Rewind, but Michel Gondry’s latest does tend to keep crashing into ‘oh come on now, what were you thinking?’ self-indulgence.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/08
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moments of Gondry inspiration make Be Kind Rewind worth your time, even if you decide to wait for the video.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/22/08
Matt McNally
Matt McNally
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Michel Gondry is a visionary of sorts, but he needs a talented writer to add emotional depth to his child-like creativity if he is going to reach the heights of Eternal Sunshine again.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/22/08
Matthew De Abaitua
Matthew De Abaitua
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It takes a special talent to wring so much warm, humane comedy out of such a screwy premise. But the real triumph is how Gondry uses it to champion no-budget indie filmmaking, salute cinema’s unifying properties and thumb his nose at the Hollywood system.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
02/22/08
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film

100 minutes of sweet-natured idiocy.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
02/22/08
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

Hollywood showbiz is about the now and the new, so there is something subversive about Gondry pitching his tent in the wasteground of obsolescence behind the gleaming edifice of modernity.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/22/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A scruffy, likeable little comedy, even though it's not actually very funny or involving.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
02/11/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

It's a happy pill in the shape of a cinema ticket.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
02/22/08
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

The director has attempted to construct quite a complex little film here, but only parts of this delicate concoction work effectively. The movie feels like a strange, lightweight piece of ephemeral fluff.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies UK | comment Comment
02/22/08
Orlando Parfitt
Orlando Parfitt
IGN Movies UK

It’s inviting, undemanding and altogether wonderful. You’ll want to see it again, or at least Swede it yourself.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/22/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Michel Gondry's latest cinematic breakthrough Be Kind Rewind grants passage into his magical imagination and proves yet again he's one of today's artistic giants.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
02/22/08
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

Innovative auteur Michel Gondry's latest curio is either boring or brilliantly boring.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
02/21/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Such a far-fetched shaggy-dog yarn borders on the patronizing. But Gondry's belief in community-based, handmade, DIY culture is infectious, and his cry against big-box homogenization (fewer choices, more copies) is a noble one.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/21/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

It may be full of madcap surrealism and clever-clever meta-cinematic touches, but it is also an unfashionably good-natured film with real heart. Oddball, endearing, and very, very funny...

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
02/16/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Be Kind Rewind explores the meaning of originality, but it’s also a fable about art and social change.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
02/20/08
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

Once the movie starts finding its focus it becomes a very unique experience

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
07/22/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Be Kind Rewind

June 25, 2008: A people's cinema rough cut heart so squarely in the right place over in Passaic as opposed to Hollywood, that it's pretty much hard to resist. Opens in new window
More...

June 16, 2008: RT on DVD: 70 More Minutes of The Incredible Hulk on Blu-Ray??
This week in DVD news, that long-awaited Kill Bill double-volume set may finally be on its way and Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier promises enough leftover Hulk... More...

March 05, 2008: UK Box Office Breakdown: Slow Week Sees Bank Job Claim No.1
A slow week at the box office allowed Jason Statham's The Bank Job to sneak into first place in the UK charts. Meanwhile Rambo, Cloverfield and Alvin and the Chipmunks all... More...

February 29, 2008: UPDATED: UK Box Office Breakdown: Odeon Snubs Rambo
Jumper holds on to the number one spot at the UK box office, but only because a dispute between Sony and Odeon kept the film of the cinema chain's 100+ screens. More...

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