Be Kind. Rewind. (or just buy the dvd)

The Good: It was a great story. No two ways about it. Danny Glover plays an almost-down-and-out shop owner in New Jersey, and he pulls it off flawlessly. How?! I really don't know, but he does. His shop ($1 vhs rental / thrift store) is being threatened by the town's improvement committee (stupid $%^%@#) because it's just too old and run-down. He goes on a trip to the city to spy on a Hollywood Video store trying to get ideas on how to make his store better.
Enter Mos Def and Jack Black. Mos Def is a nice kid from the neighborhood that helps out at the store ($1 vhs rental / thrift store). He's left in charge for the week or so that the owner is gone. So far, so good. Jack Black is a (bless his heart) down-and-out loser with a good intentions and a small brain. And he is a comic GAWD! He's perfect for this role. (his camouflage skills are beyond reproach)


The Bad: Mos Def is a nice kid from the neighborhood that helps out at the store ($1 vhs rental / thrift store). I know I just said that a second ago, but it deserves repeating. Why, you ask? Well, here's the rub, Mos Def's character at the beginning of this film: D-U-M, stupid! I really did think he was playing a "special" kid from the 'hood. I even thought to myself "wow, he can pull off a mentally handicapped character really, really well." I was impressed. Then, as the movie progressed, he started getting smarter and smarter. Nothin' wrong with a little "hey-I-have-responsibility-now-so-I'll-grow-up-a-little" attitude. But all of that in the few short days that Danny Glover was out scouting? Unlikely. By the time the movie ended, I was thinking that MENSA would be showing up asking him to sign up. (or maybe just the DGA). So, what about the dee dee dee thing he was doing eariler? Was it a mistake? A bit of clever writing? We may never know.


The Ugly: Irv Gooch in drag.

Conclusion: Good idea. Good acting. Good sweding. Good movie. Good nite.

1 comment:

  1. I agree.

    Didn't care for the ending though. It felt very rushed. Did they ever figure out if the place was getting demo'd?

    Why was Danny Glover OR Sigorney Weaver in this movie? Did they owe someone a favor? I know, Mrs Weaver, you haven't exactly been breaking the box offices recently, but c'mon now. :( <- that's my "Aliens" to "Corporate sellout" sad panda face. Mr Glover... Ummmm... Yeah... I got nothin... Call Mel Gibson...

    I'm kind of glad I wasn't the only one who thought Mos Def was supposed to be retarded. The difference is, I didn't think he got any smarter as the movie progressed. Perhaps Jack Black was causing that as well. The world may never know.

    All in all, it was an entertaining flick. I'll give it 4 out of 5 antlers. A solid Saturday afternoon movie. If they would have dropped the 2 headliners and got a couple no-names, and fleshed the end out a little more, it would probably be 5 out of 5...

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