Rent Be Kind Rewind on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Michel Gondry
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jack Black, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Danny Glover
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera and a budget of zero dollars.
Verdict
The creativity of this movie is really endearing, outshining a generic conclusion. To cover a mistake, they film the best version of the movies they can. While their efforts pale in comparison, the community loves the effort. The most fun this movie provides is seeing how creative they are in making these movies with whatever objects are lying around. This really is an ode to film making, big or small. Take whatever resources are available, and go for it. Anyone can make a movie.
Watch It.
Review
Gondry also directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), his break out film.
Mike (Yasiin Bey) works in one of the last video cassette rental stores in town for jazz aficionado Elroy (Danny Glover). Elroy is sad to see the neighborhood changing. His building has been condemned, and if he doesn't make necessary repairs it will be demolished.
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| Jack Black, Yasiin Bey play Jerry, Mike |
Jerry (Jack Black) hangs out at the store frequently, living in a trailer next to the power station that he thinks is melting his brain. In an attempted sabotage of the power station Jerry becomes magnetized, unwittingly erasing all of the tapes in the store. I like how the image distorts before we even know what happened to Jerry. It's a subtle clue.
Mike is worried about what customers will tell Elroy. He can't rent blank tapes, and he can't tell his boss. A customer wants Ghostbusters, and he attempts to get a tape from another store, but everyone rents DVDs now. Mike and Jerry's solution is to film their own version of the movie. It's a fun salute to Ghostbusters. Their creativity is fun even if the resulting movie isn't great. They shoot day for night by inverting the image. To correct their faces, they photocopy them and use that as a mask. This spoof alone makes the movie worth watching, and it's the spoof that gets the most screen time. While they're still concerned over how customers will react, the response is overwhelming. Renters want more movies in the same style. Mike and Jerry recruit Alma (Melonie Diaz) to help, and they still don't have enough time to make spoofs of all the requests, so Jerry comes up with a reason to charge more and allow for a longer wait. He claims these videos are created in Sweden and shipped over, thus "Sweded." They recreate many classic movies including 2001: A Space Odyssey, RoboCop, Rush Hour 2, King Kong, Carrie, The Lion King, and Driving Miss Daisy.
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| Melonie Diaz, Yasiin Bey, Jack Black play Alma, Mike, Jerry |
Their venture turns into a success. Everyone wants to see the "Sweded" videos. The creativity of these low budget movies is a lot of fun. The trio manages to capture the spirit of the movies. Finally the store has customers again, but the problem is that they've violated copyright. That ends all the fun just as they were trying to make enough money to repair the store.
With no other options, Mike, Jerry, Alma, and Elroy make a tribute to Elroy's favorite jazz musician, Fats Waller. It doesn't stop the impending demolition, but it does bring the community together one last time. The conclusion lacks the inventiveness that propels the rest of the movie. I'm not sure how else this could end. Saving the store would be too cheesy. It's not like the movie didn't set up Fats Waller and the community angle from the beginning, but the middle of this movie is an unrelated fun romp.
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