BE KIND REWIND
RYAN: I had virtually zero interest in “Be Kind Rewind,” so thank you for seeing it without me.
CAROLINE: For some reason, I was very interested in seeing it. Maybe it was because of director Michel Gondry. But now that I’ve seen it, words can’t even express my disappointment.
RYAN: How come?
CAROLINE: It’s just really lame. I thought Jack Black and Mos Def might make it fun, but even they couldn’t save it.
RYAN: Good God. What was so bad about it?
CAROLINE: I thought it seemed like a cute premise: two guys in New Jersey re-film a bunch of movies after all the videos at the video store get erased by mistake. It seemed so cute and original. But it’s just bizarre and farfetched.
RYAN: What was the audience reaction like?
CAROLINE: Actually, people at the screening seemed to like it. They were laughing a lot and I heard one girl say how cute she thought it was. I just felt like they tried to make this a movie about a town coming together and supporting one another, but it just comes off fake and overly sentimental.
RYAN: Well, I can’t say I’m sad I missed it.
CAROLINE: There’s also one very weird scene in the beginning where Jack Black becomes magnetized at the local power plant, which eventually leads to his accidentally erasing all the videotapes. When he gets magnetized, he gets lifted in the air and has all these currents running through him, and the movie almost becomes sci-fi/fantasy. It’s this weird fantastical scene, but it only lasts about 3 minutes. Then it’s back to the same pseudo-dramatic, mildly amusing plot.
RYAN: It sounds unbelievably strange. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Bottom line?
CAROLINE: I really can’t recommend this movie. I’m sure people who are big fans of Michel Gondry will run out to see it, but I really didn’t like it. FYI Danny Glover has a small part, and Mia Farrow is supposed to be this cute woman who rallies the town, but she’s just kind of annoying. It seemed like it would be an interesting film, but it was just kind of boring and odd.
RYAN: Let’s not speak of it again.