Be Kind Rewind (2008)

We’ve seen Jack Black take center stage in a type of high street outlet that has died a death before. That was the wonderful High Fidelity (2000) where he plays a role (sales assistant in a record store) that was almost a little too close for home for me when I thought about I how might behave if I was in that job. The difference in Be Kind Rewind is that although he frequently takes center stage in Mr. Fletcher’s (Danny Glover) video rental store, he doesn’t actually work there. And, the other difference I hate to add; is that vinyl made a major high street comeback. Video rental is no more, and painfully, horribly, shockingly, I have to admit, will be making no comeback. Black is Jerry, a useless tin foil hat wearing loser who attempts to break into a local electrical substation to do it damage but only manages to electrocute himself, and as a result, wipes the contents of every VHS in Mr. Fletcher’s store. Fletcher is away at the time, leaving Mike (Mos Def) in charge. The first third of the film is messy and patchy, not really giving us enough to attach ourselves to the characters, but when Mike and Jerry decide to start re filming all the wiped titles themselves, things pick up dramatically. Be Kind Rewind’s premise is ludicrous, but the longer it goes on, the more you start to enjoy yourself. This is a film that cares about film, even if its protagonists don’t, and to achieve the desire of you caring for its idiot characters is impressive. This is no masterpiece, and it’s no High Fidelity, but its heart is in the right place. 7.1/10