Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Two bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars.

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writer:

Michel Gondry

Stars:

Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Black	...	Jerry
Mos Def	...	Mike
Danny Glover	...	Mr. Fletcher
Mia Farrow	...	Miss Falewicz
Melonie Diaz	...	Alma
Irv Gooch	...	Wilson
Chandler Parker	...	Craig
Arjay Smith	...	Manny
Quinton Aaron	...	Q
Gio Perez	...	Randy
Basia Rosas	...	Andrea
Tomasz Soltys	...	Carl
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Kid 1
Blake Hightower	...	Kid 2
Amir Ali Said	...	Kid 3

Storyline

In Passaic, NJ, Elroy Fletcher runs a video store in a condemned building he claims was the birthplace of Fats Waller. Fletcher goes on a Waller centennial trip, leaving his foster son Mike in charge of the store. Mike's peculiar friend Jerry tries to sabotage a power station and nearly electrocutes himself, getting magnetized in the process. He inadvertently erases every tape in the store. Mike and Jerry hatch an plan to hide the disaster by making a homemade "Ghostbusters" to rent to a woman whom Fletcher will be phoning to check on them. Soon, with help, their homemade versions of films develop a cult following. Will this new business save the store and the building? What about Fats?

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Plot Keywords:

friend | video store | sabotage | power plant | mural | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes the best movies are the ones we make up.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Originalmente pirata

Filming Locations:

Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,388,146 (UK) (22 February 2008)

Gross:

$11,169,531 (USA) (25 April 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Partizan, Focus Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Michel Gondry insisted on using the inhabitants of Passaic, New Jersey, where the film was shot and is set, as extras and some as prominent actors throughout the film. The scene where the inhabitants get to see "Fats Waller was Born in Passaic" (the biopic and only non-Sweded production) playing on the video store window actually featured the inhabitants watching the movie they had worked long and hard on for the very first time.

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Goofs

When Mr Fletcher sets off on his trip, the train leaves going back the way it came, even though Passaic does not appear to be a terminal.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Jerry: [sung, poorly, to the tune of the Ghostbusters theme song] When you're walkin' down the street...
Jerry: [singing] ... and you see a little ghost...
Jerry: [singing] ... whatcha gonna do about -
[more out of tune]
Jerry: Ghostbusters?
Mike: What? What is that?
Jerry: That's the Ghostbusters theme song.
Mike: No.
Jerry: I'm pretty sure it is.

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Connections

References Reality Bites (1994)

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Soundtracks

"I Ain't Got Nobody"
Written by Roger Graham and Spencer Williams
Published by Edwin H. Morris & Co. Inc and Jerry Vogel Music Co. (ASCAP)
Performed by Fats Waller
Courtesy of Bluebird/Novus/RCA Victor
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Funny and endearing movie from Gondry

The trailer really said it all about this film, and the film delivers everything it promises! What a great concept and how great a story we got from Gondry this time. Very accessible (unlike Science of Sleep) and entertaining from beginning to end. Jack Black and Mos Def play their parts well and the aforementioned is actually funny in this one, unlike a lot of his recent work. At the core of it all, Be Kind Rewind tells a great story about how you don't really need high-tech equipment to make movies. Who needs film-school when you've got your friends and a cheap camera?

I really enjoyed this film.