There’s just enough whimsical good humour to carry Be Kind Rewind, but Michel Gondry’s latest does tend to keep crashing into ‘oh come on now, what were you thinking?’ self-indulgence.
Comment
02/20/08
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
65
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:124
Fresh:81
Rotten:43
Average Rating:6.3/10
Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 20, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $11,028,439
Synopsis: Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering, BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic, New Jersey, the comedy centers on two of the town's residents:... [More]
Reviews for Be Kind Rewind
101 - 120 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticArguably the biggest problem with Be Kind Rewind is that Gondry never stops experimenting, even when the experimentation works against the movie's best interests.
02/20/08
The fake-movie vignettes are a delight to watch, and they would have made for great music videos or short films. What they don’t do is hold together a movie where the characters are forgettable and the situations are contrived.
02/20/08
Unlike Eternal Sunshine, in which Gondry achieved real poignancy about a different kind of erasing, Be Kind Rewind falls into the same category as his The Science of Sleep: It's too silly, and straining too hard to be weird.
02/20/08
A would-be heart-tugging, inspiring paean to the do-it-yourself ethic/aesthetic and its concomitant community-building powers, the latest film from visual lo-fi innovator Michel Gondry is slight and finally unconvincing, alas.
02/20/08
Be Kind Rewind is, on one level, about the magic that can happen in fairy tales -- and only in fairy tales -- when enough people who like the good old ways band together to keep things simple yet cunning.
02/20/08
Be Kind Rewind explores the meaning of originality, but it’s also a fable about art and social change.
02/20/08
A fragile, somewhat precious celebration of DIY filmmaking and cult-film consumption.
02/20/08
Only crazy rubber-faced Jack Black could pull off such a spoofy, overly-eager slapdash of a project.
02/19/08
Most of Be Kind Rewind feels as silly and undisciplined as the mini-movies cooked up by its hapless heroes.
02/19/08
Top CriticGondry might think he’s parodying dumb comedies in which poor people rally to save beloved institutions from foreclosure -- but too often Be Kind Rewind just resembles them.
02/19/08
In Michel Gondry's estimation, we're defined by our dreams, our art, and our histories, a conviction he once again expresses with whimsical, lyrical inventiveness.
02/17/08
Michel Gondry has taken a stunning leap forward with Be Kind Rewind. It's his most successful film.
02/16/08
It may be full of madcap surrealism and clever-clever meta-cinematic touches, but it is also an unfashionably good-natured film with real heart. Oddball, endearing, and very, very funny...
02/16/08
A people's cinema rough cut heart so squarely in the right place over in Passaic as opposed to Hollywood, that it's pretty much hard to resist.
02/15/08
Not as quirky as Gondry's previous movies but not quite mainstream either. [It] has enough heart in the end to make up for the fact that it isn't nearly as funny as its premise might suggest.
02/15/08
A scruffy, likeable little comedy, even though it's not actually very funny or involving.
02/11/08
Anyone who has ever made a no-budget home movie, replete with exaggerated performances and makeshift props out of The Warriors, will hold a special place in their heart for Be Kind Rewind
02/03/08
A sweet and simple story that aims to be no bigger than it is, a shaggy dog fable about dreams and the transformative power of even the worst movies.
01/24/08
Gondry would seem to have intended Be Kind Rewind more as a generous, sweet-tempered comic fable. But the souffle never rises.
01/22/08
Top CriticLatest News for Be Kind Rewind
June 25, 2008:
A people's cinema rough cut heart so squarely in the right place over in Passaic as opposed to Hollywood, that it's pretty much hard to resist. 
More...
June 16, 2008:
RT on DVD: 70 More Minutes of The Incredible Hulk on Blu-Ray??
This week in DVD news, that long-awaited Kill Bill double-volume set may finally be on its way and Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier promises enough leftover Hulk... More...
March 05, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Slow Week Sees Bank Job Claim No.1
A slow week at the box office allowed Jason Statham's The Bank Job to sneak into first place in the UK charts. Meanwhile Rambo, Cloverfield and Alvin and the Chipmunks all... More...
February 29, 2008:
UPDATED: UK Box Office Breakdown: Odeon Snubs Rambo
Jumper holds on to the number one spot at the UK box office, but only because a dispute between Sony and Odeon kept the film of the cinema chain's 100+ screens. More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds