Be Kind Rewind (2008)
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66% of critics liked it
(126 reviews) -
57% of users liked it
(188,491 ratings)
When a bumbling movie lover becomes magnetized while attempting to sabotage a local power plant and accidentally erases all of the videotapes in the small video store where his best friend works, the pair attempt to keep the store's loyal customer base by remaking as many of the top-renting… More When a bumbling movie lover becomes magnetized while attempting to sabotage a local power plant and accidentally erases all of the videotapes in the small video store where his best friend works, the pair attempt to keep the store's loyal customer base by remaking as many of the top-renting movies as possible. Mike (Mos Def) is an employee at Be Kind Rewind, a modest mom and pop video store that is owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). Mike's best friend Jerry (Jack Black) works in an auto garage/junkyard directly adjacent to a local power plant. Lately Jerry has become increasingly paranoid about the effects that the power plant is having on his health. Convinced that he has developed a brain tumor from working in such close proximity to the power plant, Jerry attempts to sabotage the plant. Unfortunately for Jerry, his brain is magnetized in the process. The next time Jerry goes to visit Mike at Be Kind Rewind, the powerful magnetization emanating from his brain erases every videotape in the store. Now the only way for Mike and Jerry to be sure that Be Kind Rewind stays in business is to remake every film on the shelves before the customers notice. But when word gets out that Mike and Jerry have remade such Hollywood classics as Back to the Future, Robocop, The Lion King, and Rush Hour without permission, the store is threatened with copyright violations and forced to close its doors. In the aftermath of the closing, Mr. Fletcher and his employees discover just how loyal their customers really are when the entire neighborhood pools their resources to transform the junkyard into a legitimate movie studio and produce an entirely original film detailing the incredible adventures of a local jazz legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michel Gondry
- Written By
- Michel Gondry
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Feb 22, 2008 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 10, 2008
- Studio
- New Line Cinema
Critic Reviews
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Dana Stevens, Slate
It's hard to get too cranky about a movie that, at heart, is a tribute to the joy of making things with your friends.
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Claudia Puig, USA Today
Takes a clever concept and cobbles a weak story around it.
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Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Long before the movie ends, it slips right off the sprockets.
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Be Kind Rewind declares that the riches of cinema history touch each of us personally. Films become so deep a part of us that we own them that our memories of them, whether faithful or fanciful, become their meanings.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Give Be Kind Rewind a little time and an open mind, and it just might grow on you. Its premise is absurd, but adorably so.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jack Black
as Jerry
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Mos Def
as Mike
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Danny Glover
as Mr. Fletcher
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Mia Farrow
as Miss Falewicz
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Melonie Diaz
as Alma
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Chandler Parker
as Craig
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Irv Gooch
as Wilson
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Arjay Smith
as Manny
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Marcus Carl Franklin
as Kid 1
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Blake Hightower
as Kid 2
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Amir Ali Said
as Kid 3
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Sigourney Weaver
as Ms. Lawson




