Parents' Guide to

Be Kind Rewind

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Quirky Jack Black comedy is sweet and silly.

Movie PG-13 2008 101 minutes
Be Kind Rewind Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

AWils2
AWils2 Adult
October 29, 2021
age 13+

READ THIS REVIEW.

First of all, we've been using Common Sense Media for a long time, but their review is not good. There is swearing, three uses of "What the duck", two uses of s**t, one b***h, two uses of what the hell and a**, and a not needed crude joke about someone's balls slapping so hard they had to scoop them up and ask them to come home. Why? There was no point to include that and it is completely unnecessary. There is also a man in a hard core porn room section of a video store after hours. Anyways, if you're thirteen and up and mature you should be able to handle it. But parents, approach it with concern.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
whgraham
whgraham Adult
July 2, 2012
age 14+

Crude joke about "getting action" is worse than crude

I was fine with the idea of the movie, and am generally OK with Jack Black. But the "somewhat crude joke" is a bit worse than that, and I was shocked to hear it from a movie that was deemed OK for 12 and under. Consensus here is 10 and 11. I don't agree with those ages.

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Jack Black and Yasiin Bey star as best friends Jerry and Mike, who live in Passaic, New Jersey, and spend their time working in BE KIND REWIND, a small video store (VHS only!) owned by Mike's former guardian, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). While Mr. Fletcher -- who's trying to save his building from being condemned -- is on a trip, Jerry gets unintentionally magnetized by the power plant he lives next to and accidentally erases all of the tapes in the store. Desperate not to lose customers, the duo decides to film no-budget, amateurish versions of a few movies for their customers. Much to their astonishment, the redone videos are a hit, and soon people are lining up to get their favorite movies "Sweded" (redone) by Jerry, Mike, and their hired leading lady, Alma (Melonie Davis).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (10):

Devotees of eccentric French director Michel Gondry may be slightly disappointed that Rewind isn't the mind-bending masterpiece that 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was for many. But it's still dreamlike in many ways. That people would embrace and participate in silly remakes of blockbuster or cult movies is definitely far-fetched, as is the sense that Passaic is a sleepy urban town that folks get "stuck in," rather than a suburb of New York City. Forgiving the believability of the setting or the circumstances (who runs a VHS-only video store?), the film is, like most of Gondry's work, charming and endearing, with most of the laughs stemming predictably from Black's manic behavior and Def's pitch-perfect straight man work.

Glover, who usually doesn't look like a man in his 60s, is delightful as the store owner who slowly comes to accept and contribute to the new business model of custom movies, even playing Morgan Freeman to smitten neighbor Mia Farrow's Jessica Tandy in a Sweded version of Driving Miss Daisy. And Hollywood newcomer Melonie Diaz (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) is adorable as the guys' go-to actress/director/cinematographer. Like Alma, the film is pleasant and at times moving, while still remaining lighthearted and sweet. Those looking for an introspective treatise on love and life should rewind Gondry's past films, but those open to a funny, less-probing comedy will leave the theater wanting more of the Sweded films.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what the film is saying about Hollywood movies. Can a redone, amateurish 20-minute version of a movie be just as good as -- or better than -- the original? Or is the point that, in re-shooting the films with other movie fans, everyone becomes part of the films and the community? Kids: Does a movie have to be believable to be good?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: February 21, 2008
  • On DVD or streaming: June 16, 2008
  • Cast: Danny Glover, Jack Black, Yasiin Bey
  • Director: Michel Gondry
  • Inclusion Information: Black actors
  • Studio: New Line
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 101 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: some sexual references.
  • Last updated: February 22, 2023

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