Mubi Monday: Be Kind Rewind (2008)

If you remember Be Kind Rewind as the film in which Jack Black and Yaslin Bey (still being billed here as Mos Def) make cheap recreations of some blockbuster movies then you're quite correct. You're also missing out on the real heart of it though, and the obvious commentary about the divide between art and commerce. Or maybe you also remembered that. If so, you have a better memory than I do. I hadn't watched Be Kind Rewind in over a decade, but I am very happy to have rewatched it now. Because it's a lovely film, full of wit and charm, as well as a great cast all doing great work.

Bey plays Mike, a young man who works in a video store owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). He is put in charge of the store while Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a few days and it's not long until disaster strikes. That disaster is in the shape of Jerry (Black), a friend who doesn't realise that he has been temporarily magnetised, and therefore doesn't realise that his presence in the video store leads to all of the movies being erased. This isn't good, not at all, especially when the business needs to make a lot more money than usual in order to stay solvent. Rushing to replace titles with their own versions of them, Mike and Jerry have to start with Ghostbusters, a title requested by Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow). As they look to get more titles done, they enlist the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz). The three soon become quite the production house, finding their personal visions being appreciated by the local community, and also by film fans who start travelling to the store from further afield.

Written and directed by Michel Gondry, a man who knows how to create some great practical effects on a low budget (as shown in his many creative music videos, as well as films like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and The Science Of Sleep), Be Kind Rewind is easily sold as "that film in which the leads make cheap recreations of some blockbuster titles", but it's much more than that. It serves as a reminder about necessity being the mother of invention, it shows the limitless possibilities that are available to people who have imagination and vision, and there's a subtle-as-a-sledgehammer-to-the-face commentary on the homogenisation of cinema, from the content to the delivery system that gets it out there to viewers. Granted, you have to cringe slightly in a scene that has Jack Black playing Jackie Chan's character in Rush Hour 2, and there are a couple of other moments arguably worse than that, but it's all done with an air of innocence and childish exuberance that shows where the characters are coming from. They're playing dress-up, they're putting on a show for others to enjoy, and they'll take on every role they have to. Despite being adult actors playing adult characters, Black and Bey are very much portrayed as well-intentioned children, with childish dreams and a childish ignorance of how everything should be (of how things are done just because that's always the way that they have been done).

Bey is very sweet in his role, and is also receptive enough to stories told to him that he serves as a way in which the viewer learns another valuable lesson about just how important it can be to believe in stories, especially when reality tries to get in the way and/or grind us down. Black is a lot of fun, bringing his usual energy and physicality to the role. Glover and Farrow, the two "sensible" adults who find out about the movie-making plan at different times in the movie, are both wonderful, and really fit their roles. Glover, especially, gives what may well be his best performance of the past couple of decades. Diaz may be the least familiar of the leads, but she does great work, matching the enthusiasm of her male colleagues while bringing a bit more savvy to any opportunities that arise to make some money.

Not only does this work as a comedy, not only does it work as a love letter to artists making art that isn't necessarily going to reach blockbuster status, it also serves as a lovely analogy for the lifeline of a movie fan. You start off by being told stories by adults, stories that you envision in your mind and you accept as reality (whether or not they are). You then get to enjoy those stories for yourself. You may get a bit lazy here, assuming that everything is always available around you, accepting the mainstream "fast food" without remembering the full range that is out there. You then start to make strong connections with others, bonding over a variety of shared tastes, and maybe even striving to make your own work (in whatever medium you might choose), and that might even lead to you becoming part of a clique. And then, one bright and beautiful day, you realise that you don't have to protect yourself by sheltering in that clique. Many other people enjoy the same art as you, and just as many people will react positively to your passion, even if they're not on the exact same page.

Be Kind Rewind sounds like it would just be about videotapes, but it's not. It's about all film. It's about all art. And it's ultimately about the value it has, not in budgets or box office, but in bringing people together for a communal experience. You should watch/rewatch this, and enjoy it. And you should definitely check out pretty much everything else that Gondry has given us over the years.

8/10

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The Blind Side (2009)

It's interesting to watch The Blind Side today, probably more interesting than it would have been watching it when first released, for the way in which it already feels quite archaic and cringe-inducing. A decade later we have conversations whirling around daily about representation, we've had the attempt to remind police of their bias with the Black Lives Matter, and there has been a notable progression, even if it is in the tiniest of increments. The fact that The Blind Side is based on a true story doesn't mean you can watch it without considering everything that has happened since. I'll be reviewing it for what it is, as I try to do with every movie, but I felt it was worth pointing this out at the start. You can view and enjoy this for the standard drama, with a hefty serving of sports, that it is, and you can also springboard from it into some very interesting thoughts and conversations about what has, and hasn't, changed in the previous decade.

Quinton Aaron plays Michael Oher, a large African American lad who gets a chance to join a fairly prestigious school when the American Football coach (Ray McKinnon) considers what an asset he could be to the school team. Unfortunately, Michael doesn't look like he will be there for long. His grades aren't good and he has to spend his nights seeking somewhere warm to sleep, due to his being made homeless. But an encounter with the Tuohy family starts him on a path that may give him the time and opportunity to make a much better life for himself.

Writer-director John Lee Hancock has done well for himself with a selection of celebrated films adapted from true stories (including Saving Mr. Banks and The Founder, as well as this one). Here he adapts the book by Michael Lewis, fudging some facts and character traits to create more cinematic elements for the main characters to contend with, and he does everything with a degree of polish and competence that guarantees most viewers who watch without being too cynical will at least enjoy watching the story unfold. It's very predictable, and makes a lot of very safe choices, but it's still a good watch, the kind of glossy cinematic comfort food that makes for a decent choice on family movie night.

Aaron is very good in his role, a gentle giant who has his intelligence hidden behind his timid demeanour, ready to fulfil his potential if someone can engage him in the right way. Sandra Bullock is enjoyably over the top as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a woman who is used to getting her way and doesn't care about the opinions of others. It's an over the top performance, and one that bagged her an Oscar for reasons that are beyond me, but there's no denying that she has fun with it. Tim McGraw plays her husband, and the children are played by Lily Collins and a scene-stealing Jae Head (the youngest family member). Everyone does good work. McKinnon is fun in the coach role, not knowing how to deal with his new player until Mrs Tuohy puts him right, and Kathy Bates does just fine as a tutor who is hired to help Michael get his grades up, because failing academically will scupper any prospects he may have to develop his American Football career.

Just as easy to hate as it is to enjoy, The Blind Side is simply out to tell a story that engages and entertains viewers, and maybe moves them on occasion (if you're unmoved then it's not for the lack of attempted manipulation by Hancock). I ended up really liking it, mainly thanks to the central performances from Aaron and Bullock, and I recommend it to others, even if, despite the title, there's not much that happens that you don't see coming from the very beginning.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can get the same disc here.