by Thomas Ferguson

Okay, I’m gonna make this as quick and painless as humanly possible… Just like pulling off a band-aid. The trailer for Be Kind, Rewind makes this new comedy seem corny and outdated. Unfortunately, it was worse. The movie was extremely corny and miserably outdated.

Jack Black plays Jerry, a loveable loser, who becomes magnetized in a freak accident. His injury causes him to accidentally erase all the tapes in the local video store being run by his friend Mike (Mos Def).

Instead of replacing the tapes, Mike and Jerry decide to reenact portions of each movie. Their poor quality films become popular with the locals and soon the two become celebrities. As business picks up, pressure to sale the place increases – falling squarely on the shoulders of the owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). The city wants him to relocate the store to another area to make way for new construction.

Mike, Jerry, and numerous members of the community join forces to collect enough money to save the business by making one huge movie. This movie will shed some light on the history of the building, hopefully making it a historical site that the city can’t touch.

Last week at work, several of my co workers and I were discussing this movie. Everyone believed it would be absolutely terrible. We all agreed that this concept could never work in this day and age. We were all right.

There are so many problems with this movie. Let me begin with its believability…or lack thereof. If this movie were made in the late eighties when DVD wasn’t as prevalent, maybe it could work. Unfortunately, videotapes are becoming extinct. Like the 8-Track and BETA before it, VHS is a dying technology.

It’s because of this simple fact that Be Kind, Rewind doesn‘t work . It’s a neighborhood full of people with no DVD access? Adding salt to the wound, the movie itself is not interesting or even funny for that matter. I may have laughed four or five times. Too bad, as I was laughing at it, not with it. This is the most preposterous movie I’ve seem in quite some time. Poorly constructed characters, predictable plot, and stale writing.

Do yourself a favor…Be Kind, Fast Forward.