PLOT:
In Passaic, NJ, Elroy Fletcher runs a video store in a condemned building he claims was the birthplace of Fats Waller. Fletcher goes on a Waller centennial trip, leaving his foster son Mike in charge of the store. Mike’s peculiar friend Jerry tries to sabotage a power station and nearly electrocutes himself, getting magnetized in the process. He inadvertently erases every tape in the store. Mike and Jerry hatch an plan to hide the disaster by making a homemade “Ghostbusters” to rent to a woman whom Fletcher will be phoning to check on them. Soon, with help, their homemade versions of films develop a cult following. Will this new business save the store and the building? What about Fats?
REVIEW:
What did I like?
Video store. Remember the days when we couldn’t just turn on our devices and have instant access to a vast library of films, but rather had to go to a physical location and search for the movie we wanted to see. Heaven forbid if all the copies were checked out and we would have to wait for one to be returned! *SIGH* I miss the video store. Interesting thing…this is set in modern day (I believe this was released in 2008?), which is way before the streaming wars. Netflix was still primarily a DVD by mail company (do they still do that?) and hadn’t forced Blockbuster out of business…yet. The video store in this film only features VHS, which I found interesting because most store, even the mom and pop variety, were completely on the DVD kick and exploring Blu ray at the time, if I recall. It was just a nice bit of nostalgia to see the VHS tapes on the shelves.
Fats. If you keep up with this blog, then it is fairly obvious that I am a jazz aficionado. That said, I will admit that Fats Waller is not one I’m particularly knowledgeable about. I’m not as bad as the kids in the film who when asked to name a Fats Waller song for some reason started singing Notorious B.I.G. and nursery rhymes, but I need to learn more about the man. To my knowledge, there aren’t many films on the subject of Waller, which is a shame because he does cast a huge shadow on the world of jazz. He may be a bit of a macguffin, for lack of a better term, in this film, but I can guarantee some folks went and read up and learned something about him after watching this picture.
DIY. For so many years, movie companies have had the monopoly on making movies. Today, anyone with a camera can make a movie and upload it to Youtube, Tik Tok, or wherever. Now, the idea is different in this film, at least until the end, but the same principle applies. These guys are making their own movies and putting them out there for people to see (because Jack Black’s character managed to get magnetized and erase all the tapes in the shop). At first, they do this just to keep the store in business, but as word of mouth spreads, it becomes a way to unite the community. How can you fault them for that?
What didn’t I like?
Gentrification. A secondary plot, that really doesn’t come into play fully until the last act, is the city’s desire to demolish the store and “improve” the neighborhood. Look, this is an older neighborhood and not the most aesthetically pleasing, but this is where this community lives. When cities want to “improve” these neighborhoods, all they do is kick everyone out so that they can build fancy apartments and/or overpriced stores in its stead. Nothing is put back the way it was and those that were kicked out are have to find a new home, despite having lived in the same spot for some 30, 40, 50 years. I applaud the film for touching on this topic, but the act and how the city officials were so callous and uncaring with is made me want to go in my TV screen and punch them in the face…or worse!
Close the store. In a pivotal scene from Clerks, Dante and Randall close the store to go on the roof and play hockey. While up there a string of characters consistently ask, “are you open”, despite the giant sign saying “back in an hour”. When Mike and Jerry (Mos Def and Jack Black, respectively) leave to film the “sweded” movies, I thought back to that. Now, it is shown that this store doesn’t do much business, but you never know when someone may come in, especially with the amount of time it takes to film a movie. We’re talking hours, just to make a 30 minute version of Ghostbusters. Maybe I’m reading too much into that, though.
Yes, you are the bad guy! Right as it looks like our heroes have pulled off a miracle and saved the store, enter a cameo by Sigourney Weaver as some sort of Federal copyright officer, I’m not exactly sure what her title is. She and her lackey seize all the sweded movies and take them outside to be destroyed, citing that little warning at the beginning of all videos. Depending on what side you’re on, she says something to the effect of “…and they thing we’re the bad guy” because the studios are losing thousands of dollars on these films (as if they don’t have enough money already). Copyright law is to protect intellectual property, such as black artists having their music stolen by the likes of Elvis, Lynyrd Skynrd, etc, not for movie studios to send lawyers and lackeys down at the slightest hint that they are losing money. Heaven forbid they don’t have a couple of $20 bills to light their cigars with!
Final verdict:
What did I think of Be Kind Rewind? At the end of the credits, there is a website address to see all the sweded videos from the film. If you search Youtube, there are a ton of sweded films, which is surprising because this was a modest hit at best. Not many people know about it’s existence. Personally, I dig it, but I like movies and jazz, so this is right up my alley. If you go into this with high expectations, you will be seriously disappointed. There is an independent comedy feel to this film that really makes it work and seeing the community unite to save the video store is sure to warm your heart. I highly recommend this to you and yours!
4 out of 5 stars
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