Mos Def and Jack Black have a wacky plan to save their video store in BE KIND, REWIND
BE KIND, REWIND (Michel Gondry, 2008)
Videology
308 Bedford Ave.
Thursday, July 11, $5, 7:00
www.bbqfilms.com
www.videology.info
When old man Fletcher (Danny Glover) takes off for a week, leaving Mike (Mos Def) in charge of his soon-to-be-demolished video store called Be Kind Rewind (they don’t have any DVDs or recent movies), his most important rule is to “Keep Jerry Out.” Jerry (Jack Black) is a crazy conspiracy theorist who covers himself in metal to ward off alien rays. After a botched attack on the local power plant, Jerry becomes a walking magnet (in a laugh-out-loud hysterical scene) and unknowingly erases all the videos in the store. Taking a page from the Little Rascals plots when Spanky and Alfalfa would suddenly put on a show for some local cause, Mike and Jerry recruit Alma (Melonie Diaz) as they proceed on their very strange attempts at Sweding — making their own versions of such films as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, and Robocop and renting them out as if they were the real thing. Following the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the extremely strange The Science of Sleep, writer-director Michel Gondry has fashioned a really stupid movie that has an overabundance of heart and charm. Glover and Mos Def are soft and gentle in this Capra-esque comedy, offsetting Black’s hyperactivity. Every time you’re ready to write the film off as being just too silly and ridiculous, something comes along to make you double over in laughter. Be Kind Rewind is having a special sold-out screening July 11 at Videology in Williamsburg, presented by BBQ Films, beginning with $5 themed drinks (the Sweded Mule, the Footage Eraser) at 7:00, followed by the film at 8:00, with gourmet popcorn and a special sweded intermission featuring a live performance by DJ Cherry Magdalene and a ticket raffle for BBQ Films’ August event.