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Black returns to form in ‘Be Kind’

What writer/director Michael Gondry may lack in writing flair, he always makes up for in imagination. That’s why everything he gets his hands on, from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” to those kooky White Stripes videos, is just so darn fun to watch.

Courtesy Photo — New Line Cinema. Jack Black [Left] and Mos Def star as Jerry and Mike in the new comedy, “Be Kind Rewind.” After Jerry accidentally erases every tape in his friend Mike’s video store, the two remake the lost films on their own.

You can only imagine how thoroughly entertaining a story about two hapless video store clerks who have to reshoot every movie in their store might be when shot through Gondry’s lens. Such is the simple, clever premise of the director’s “Be Kind Rewind,” which takes its title from the film’s dog-eared store in the not-so-good-but-not-so-bad-either part of town. The store is manned by Jack Black (“School of Rock”) and Mos Def (“The Italian Job”) as Jerry and Mike. Jerry is the lumpy, loveable oddball — the Jack Black special — while Mike is just the type of guy you’d meet in a lunch line, only slightly more charming — someone Mr. Def has developed something of a knack for playing.

The real plot begins when Jerry, in a hilarious act of industrial sabotage, accidentally transforms his entire body into a magnet, discovering the transformation only after he ruins every last videotape in the store. The pair’s 20-minute masterpieces made to replace the lost films set up what are by far the best moments of the movie and breathe new life into the lead performances.
Like the village of Brigadoon, every 100 years or so Jack Black gives a performance that is so histrionic, so goofy, yet at the same time so realistic and loveable that you can’t help but remember why you liked him as an actor in the first place. While this may not be exactly that performance, it does come tantalizingly close.

Mos Def, on the other hand, proves as satisfyingly multi-talented as always. But in the short time that these two gentlemen have to honor some of the greatest films of all time with downright terrible remakes, both are 100 percent spot on. Be it “Robocop” or “Driving Miss Daisy,” the duo’s homages are witty, human and have enough respect for the originals to avoid being blasphemous.

In celebrating these few gems, however, notice has to be taken of the third genius at work here: the writer/director from whose brain these delightfully respectful knockoffs hatched. The movie is infused with Gondry’s imaginative touch, creativity and, moreover, his absolute belief in true love. It’s a theme that threads through most of the Gondry canon — most of the stuff you probably know him for, such as ‘Eternal Sunshine’ and “The Science of Sleep.”
It’s the same story here, except this time you have to look a little harder. It’s not romantic, fraternal or even parental. In fact, the weak romantic subplot felt like a last-minute addition. The love here is for the community, for the sense of belonging and propriety the characters have for their own little slice of Earth, no matter how crummy or run down.

It’s a little more abstract and subtle than we might be used to, but it’s undeniably there in Mike and Jerry’s homemade flicks. When all is said and done, they made ’em for home and the people they share it with, from the bottom of their big fuzzy hearts.