Be Kind, Rewind
GRADE: B
REVIEWED BY DNA SMITH Special to Florida Weekly

King Features Jack Black in "Be Kind, Rewind"

Running Time: 101 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13

Director Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is one of my favorite films, so I was really looking forward to seeing "Be Kind, Rewind." The film stars Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover. Glover is the owner of a small video rental shop in Passaic, N.J., that must be the only video store in the universe that still rents VHS -- and VHS only.

Glover's assistant is Mike (Mos Def). Together they try to eke out a living and keep the business afloat in spite of the aggressive attempts by the city to gentrify his block and shut the store down.

Mike's buddy Jerry (Jack Black) is a tinfoil hat-wearing kook who lives in a trailer down the street. One night while trying to sabotage the power station, Jerry somehow becomes "magnetized."

He walks into the video store the next day and accidentally erases every tape in the store.

The boys panic when their regular daily customer Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) shows up for her daily rental. She wants to rent "Ghostbusters." They tell her to come back in a few hours.

Feverishly, the pair videotape a 20-minute version of the film, which they rent to the woman. She shows it to her nephews, who realize the DIY version they're watching isn't the actual movie. But they don't care. They want to see more handmade remakes of movies.

Almost overnight, people from the neighborhood are wrapped around the building with requests for Mike & Jerry's films.

Because of Gondry's reputation, I knew "Be Kind, Rewind" would have a kooky, ridiculous and nearly unbelievable premise.

I didn't care.

I was swept away by the sweetness and innocence of the film. "Be Kind, Rewind" is like a modern-day fairy tale. There's an almost Frank Capra-esque charm to the film that makes it endearing.

"Be Kind, Rewind," although not as good as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," is a wonderful, sweet little movie that's well worth your time and money.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.