Be Kind Rewind

NEW YORK (CNS) -- This modest little film is just endearing enough to earn some sort of cult status before long.

The frenetic but warmhearted "Be Kind Rewind" (New Line/Partizan) centers on a small video store slated for demolition in a shabby neighborhood of Passaic, N.J.

Elderly store manager Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) can save it from the wrecking ball, provided he's able to come up with money for necessary repairs to the small building that houses the store.

When he goes on a trip to commemorate the death of Fats Waller, the African-American jazz great he idolizes who was allegedly born in that building, he leaves his loyal assistant Mike (Mos Def) in charge with a strong admonition to keep out Jerry (Jack Black), Mike's bungling mechanic pal, since the hapless Jerry causes mayhem at every turn.

When Jerry tries to sabotage the power plant near his trailer home, claiming its microwaves are zapping him, he nearly electrocutes himself. The next day, despite Mike's efforts to keep him out, Jerry stumbles into the store and wanders dazed among the shelves.

As dissatisfied customers start returning blank tapes soon after, Mike figures out that Jerry inadvertently erased them all because of the magnetic field he absorbed at the power plant, and comes up with a scheme to create short, amateur video versions of classic films, "Ghostbusters," "The Lion King" and "Driving Miss Daisy" among them. He and Jerry will enact the major roles, along with game newcomer Alma (Melonie Diaz) from the neighboring dry cleaners, and they'll rent them out in the original commercial boxes.

Surprisingly, the tapes are a hit -- even with sweet but critical Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) -- who periodically surveys the store on behalf of her friend, Fletcher.

Complications ensue when their supply of the "Sweded" videos -- the boys claim they get them from Sweden -- can barely keep up with demand, Fletcher returns with his own ideas for saving the store, and Hollywood lawyers (Sigourney Weaver among them) claim copyright infringement.

Despite its intentionally rough-hewn, indie ambience, wildly improbable plotline and too much low-comedy shtick, writer-director Michel Gondry's movie can be viewed as a loving valentine both to filmmaking in a YouTube-nurtured generation and to Waller, whose "life story" is interspersed via a faux-antique black-and-white video bio that has an affecting payoff in the film's final reels.

Above all, this is a touching story of friendship, with a strong affirmation of community and good fellowship, as the townspeople rally to the threatened store's aid. Apart from some very fleeting sexual banter near the start of the film, there are scarcely any objectionable elements at all.

Witness the Words of Jesus Come to Life

The film contains some vulgar humor, brief sexual references and mild comic violence. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops