Can a remake of a classic film end up being better than the original? No, Peter Jackson's version of "King Kong" (2005) doesn't qualify. Think "Ghostbusters" (1984) but with tons of tinfoil, an original score sung by Jack Black, a dingy station wagon and an attack on a ghost (an old woman in a library) with gigantic rods and a Christmas garland.
Put these things together, and you've got only one of the low-budget remakes in Michel Gondry's new film "Be Kind Rewind." The movie title refers to a little VHS rental store in New Jersey where protagonist Mike (Mos Def) works. The store can't compete with Blockbuster- types offering multiple copies of DVD hits, and things only get worse for business after Mike's friend Jerry (Jack Black), who works at a power plant, becomes accidentally magnetized and erases all of the tapes.
In order to save the store and appease loyal customer Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), Jerry and Mike start creating their own 20-minute versions of the movies, starring themselves. Soon the whole community gets involved in the filmmaking, though copyright infringement claims threaten to shut down the store. The neighborhood teams up to create a full length feature of their own original story, hoping to keep Be Kind Rewind alive.
The acting is sufficient, though not necessarily memorable, as the charm of the film lies more in its creative and quirky plays on well-known movies. Mos Def is believable as the earnest Mike, a realist who's worried about keeping his job. Danny Glover plays the store's owner, but his performance is nothing noteworthy. Mia Farrow actually shines more here as the wonderfully strange and flaky customer.
Jack Black does his usual oddball antics as Mos Def's partner in crime, but he's far more suited for this film than his romantic comedy attempt in "The Holiday" (2006) and less ridiculous than in his leading role in "Nacho Libre" (2006). Not to mention his eyes-bulged, over-the-top acting makes his microwave-fried brain story even more believable. He's just nutty and creative enough to put kitchenware on his head and convincingly drag Mos Def into the moviemaking madness.
Some things seem hard to believe in "Be Kind Rewind," especially as the plot becomes increasingly cliché towards the end. The story behind the rental store of jazz legend Fats Waller seems irrelevant until the end, but even then, there's no real clear reason for it except that it reinforces the storytelling and community-building themes. The owner of the competing video store doesn't have a consistent role in the plot but conveniently shows up to help out near the end of the movie. Plus, Jerry's "magnetization" is a little difficult to believe, as is the fact that Miss Falewicz somehow doesn't realize that Mike and Jerry are not Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
Yet the film is charming enough that these loose ends don't matter much. Cinematographer Ellen Kuras, from Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), is on board again and keeps the film visually interesting, and the montage of remakes, ranging from "The Lion King" (1994) to "Rush Hour" (1998), is fantastic. Gondry's wonderfully quirky sense of humor and love of the artistic and handmade manifest themselves in clever bits throughout the movie, including piano keys made up of alternating fingers of black and white individuals and the use of a fan to create the effect of an old film reel.
In the movie, Mia Farrow makes a toast to films with "heart and soul." And it's true; the remakes in "Be Kind Rewind," as well as Gondry's movie itself, are innovative and heartwarming. Gondry reminds us of the draw of movies and film-making sans celebrity appearances, lame sequels and an obsession with making money. In a time when every "new" movie hitting theaters seems to be a rehash of some old idea, "Be Kind Rewind" makes light of our current situation in artistic endeavors and finds authenticity in the remake. It all feels so refreshingly fun and genuine.
Ultimately, despite the cliché moments and sometimes shallow characters, "Be Kind Rewind" is a film with heart, soul and remakes far better than "Step Up 2 The Streets" (2008). It's truly a film about film, something any movie lover can appreciate.
