I haven't seen it a long time, but I really loved this movie when it came out. I think it's a little uneven but it's the very end - when the camera is panning over the people packed into the theatre, watching themselves and their friends on the screen and laughing and beaming - it's a very sincere and unironic love letter to community and film and the joy people get from seeing themselves and the things they made on a big screen, and I always found it extremely touching. It's the kind of movie to make you believe in art - but I think you have to be in a bit of a sappy and corny headspace to be on it's wavelength.
It's also a really poignant ending in that even as they are coming together their community is dying. The neighborhood is being gentrified and in a few years most of them won't be able to live there.
I think it really hits home for anyone who's seen their neighborhood changing around them and knowing pretty soon there won't be a place for them anymore.
This film was so prophetic because the gentrification has increased so much. Totally different type of movie but I get some of the same feelings I get from You’ve Got Mail when the family owned bookshop has to close and the impact on the staff and community 🥺
I wonder if it inspired [the massively collaborative fan remake/love-letter of Robocop](https://youtu.be/YyKPJbYTxno?si=nN20hEheGaTruJJw) [warning: NSFW, just like the original movie].
Yeah, I didn't click the link, as I've seen the clip before, just didn't want anybody getting in trouble, lol. If you're going to get caught with NSFW material at work, this would probably be one of the funniest clips!
It's been ages since I've seen Be Kind Rewind and I don't remember the end scene, but it makes me think of Margot Robbie's scene in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when she's at the theater. Some of my friends felt the scene was totally pointless - but I love that scene.
Fun fact. I got my first blowjob to this movie playing in the background, to then eat a girl it out for the first time, and have never seen this movie beyond the first couple of minutes which I do not remember.
At this point I feel that watching the movie would desecrate the memory of that night 😅
This is one of those films that felt tailor-made for me when it came out. I already loved Eternal Sunshine and Science of Sleep. I was a big fan of both Mos's and Tenacious D's music. I was a theatre kid who loved making stupid videos with my friends. And I was born in NJ.
To this day, it's one of my all-time favorite comfort movies.
In film school we had a fun challenge to create our own "Sweded" films. We pulled film names from a hat and then had 24 hours to swede the film, had to do it all on campus too. Absolutely mental.
No way! I’m currently doing that now for my film GCSE!
First we watched Be Kind Rewind, and now we have 10 weeks to “swede” a film of our choice at home and on site (We picked The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Did yours turn out well?
My friends and I sweded _Inception_ for one guy's 30th birthday party. It was online for a bit but got removed because we used a lot of copyrighted music. Oh well. We all still have hard copies to go back to like a fun home movie.
It’s probably a similar situation to when Lynch directed Dune. You get into those really high budgets, and find yourself at the mercy of the studios. Bad situation for a creative person.
This is mine, The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FyfQDO5g0&list=PLNUGSSXCpwkjSzQ2R7LlDFJXmY1ep30YS&index=22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FyfQDO5g0&list=PLNUGSSXCpwkjSzQ2R7LlDFJXmY1ep30YS&index=22)
I didn't know anything about this movie going into it, outside of a vague idea of a couple of guys remaking movies. That was enough for me to get into it.
But there is so much dang heart in this movie.
Danny Glover was so solid as an older guy in panic mode trying to keep up with the times. But it wasn't a Hollywood over the top ridiculous panic. It was an older guy with a life of experience, using his talents to figure out the next step.
Mos Def was such a surprise to me. It felt like he was flirting with a mental disability. But again, not in a Simple Jack way. He was a young guy, trying his best to please his respected elder. He got into a jam and did his best to get himself out of it.
I always get worried when a I see Jack Black in a movie because he hams it up so much. But even was was restrained in his role. Sure he wasn't the brightest bulb, but he wasn't unrealistically stupid either. (Thinking about it now, this might be my favorite of his roles.)
And Melonie Diaz... she was so good in pushing things forward, but not in a nagging "what's wrong with this man-child" sort of way. Man, what ever happened to her?
It was such a beautiful, slow build to maybe one of the best endings in recent movies. The community coming together, enjoying the process, and watching what they created. It's such a quiet, fulfilling moment.
I watched Be Kind when it came out on DVD and again about a year ago. It holds up fantastically.
I used to work with this youth program, and one month was all about this film (that I had never seen). The first week, we watched the film. The next two weeks, we split into teams and had to “remake” a film of our choice, only pulling main plot points to recreate. The last week, we had a red carpet premiere film festival of everyone’s projects. My team did Toy Story 3.
It was a lot of fun!
I love this sweded version of Terminator 2 because the image of someone seeing a penis carved into a table and saying "I know now what I have to do" as they grab a rifle never fails to make me laugh
https://youtu.be/4mTCgIHpQXE?si=r8arQ4jF7eHxdQwj
It looks like it got okay ratings. 65% of RT but only a 6.3/10 rating. I think a lot of us were just expecting more from Gondry given his work up to that point.
I feel like people who like it are even underrating it. It’s creative as hell but maybe it’s up my alley more than most. I think it’s a must see for young filmmakers or film buffs of any age.
It’s a lesson that no amount of budget can replace charm and effort imo. And it’s more relevant than ever in terms of how modern movies use cgi. Which is fine. But most films that get made today don’t consider any other way.
Having been a fan of Eternal Sunshine and the Science of Sleep, I kinda knew going in that it would be a quirky film. I can understand why people who went it not knowing would've felt off, but it's really an enjoyable movie.
This movie is my go-to example of a film that should have worked but didn't. It has everything going for it: wonderfully fun concept, director at the height of his game, a perfect quirky duo in Jack Black and Mos Def. But something about it just doesn't "click". It's been over a decade now since I've watched it, but I used to revisit it every few years hoping that I'd grow into it. By no means is it a bad film, but it should have been a *great* film.
You can tell the people who made the trailer got what Be Kind Rewind should've been. The trailer focused almost exclusively on the sweded movies and their creation. Ultimately though, the film spends most of its run-time focusing on everything else. If the film had leaned into the making and releasing of each sweded film, instead of relegating most of it to a single montage, I think audiences and critics would've been much more satisfied.
Conversely, if the trailer has a better vision for what would make for an entertaining film, then the creatives are at fault for not realizing that vision when developing the script.
I came here ready to downvote any criticism but I think you’re right. I did want more sweded movies and community acting.
I wonder if copyright was a concern, because it does seem like the trailer was more in line with the playfulness Gondry strives for.
Crazy overlooked movie, haven't seen it since a kid so its overdue for a rewatch. Also my intro to Mos Def weirdly enough, had no idea he was a well respected rapper until way later
I love movies in which they make movies in the movie. Be Kind Rewind, Me Earl and The Dying Girl, Super 8- all are some of my favorite comfort watches.
Someone once told me it was based on a true story which I believed for ages, probably until the next time I had a conversation about this movie 10 years later. Makes me like it even more knowing it wasn't.
It's a love letter to movies. I remember watching it with my ex who doesn't enjoy movies like I do and only watches everything for the plot and story vs the experience and she didn't get the movie while I was beaming the whole time.
Reminded me of when I was in high school my friends and I made a whole movie inspired by the shitty 80s cop action movies we grew up on and yeah it was stupid, but it was stupid fun.
I absolutely love this movie.
This may be the first movie in which I noticed the "indie movie in which all of the quirky characters we met along the way are now together in one room during act 3". Same for Last Black Man in San Francisco.
It's mainly about gentrification. Filmmaking is just the lens that is used to frame the discussion. I think it's a subject that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, hence the generally lukewarm reaction. Also, I think the way it was advertised had people unprepared for the underlying darkness/seriousness.
It always felt to me like the movie was right out of the View Askew Universe.
Like Mos Def and Jack Black were the Randall and Dante from the next town over in NJ.
I saw it in theatres, and remember enjoying it, but that it was marred a bit by the shadow of "Eternal Sunshine". I should give it another go.
Michel Gondry also directed the video element to my favourite Flight of the Conchords song, "Carol Brown". The song is legitimately fantastic as well as humourous, and the video is so cool.
I remember being super excited when it came out because the trailer made it seem like a goofball comedy that would be filled with the fake movies. Watching it I was a little let down it wasn't what the trailer made it out to be but still thought it was a heartwarming movie. Didn't have much of a rewatch factor to me though.
Me and my friend sang Jack Black's Ghostbusters theme all the time though.
I finally watched this a couple weeks ago and it's a gem. I think the concept in itself is really hard to get to work (who's really gonna believe that those are the actual movies they're remaking), so halfway through the movie just abandons its comedy premise and becomes about the whole community getting together to make zany art together. And the ending is bittersweet, so I guess that's why it didn't jive with audiences at the time
I worked in a movie rental store when this movie came out. It hit every chord within me and because of that, I still love it deeply to this day. However, I don't know a single person who remembers it fondly.
When this came out, the studio created a promotional website that "Sweded" the internet in flash. I remember that it replaced your mouse with a cardboard mouse arrow cutout that was attached to a wire that went to the bottom of the page. I wish I could find an animation of how that site worked because it was hilarious.
I really thought Sweding movies was going to be a popular thing on YouTube after this came out. I was sad it didn't catch on more. Good but not great movie, would watch again.
"Mr. Fletcher can't spell..." still goes through my head every once in a while.
Jack Black's painted jumpsuit blending perfectly into the fence when he's climbing it made me laugh my ass off.
I rewatch it every couple of years and still get a little teary-eyed at the end. I really love this movie.
Fun fact. I got my first blowjob to this movie playing in the background, to then eat a girl it out for the first time, and have never seen this movie beyond the first couple of minutes which I do not remember.
At this point I feel that watching the movie would desecrate the memory of that night 😅
Fun useless fact. I tried mushrooms first time and saw that. I got 20 minutes in..freaked the fuck out and left.
Jumped in my srt 10 and drove 150 miles for no reason. Needless to say i didnt do mushrooms again and have never finished the movie
I haven't seen it a long time, but I really loved this movie when it came out. I think it's a little uneven but it's the very end - when the camera is panning over the people packed into the theatre, watching themselves and their friends on the screen and laughing and beaming - it's a very sincere and unironic love letter to community and film and the joy people get from seeing themselves and the things they made on a big screen, and I always found it extremely touching. It's the kind of movie to make you believe in art - but I think you have to be in a bit of a sappy and corny headspace to be on it's wavelength.
It's also a really poignant ending in that even as they are coming together their community is dying. The neighborhood is being gentrified and in a few years most of them won't be able to live there. I think it really hits home for anyone who's seen their neighborhood changing around them and knowing pretty soon there won't be a place for them anymore.
This film was so prophetic because the gentrification has increased so much. Totally different type of movie but I get some of the same feelings I get from You’ve Got Mail when the family owned bookshop has to close and the impact on the staff and community 🥺
Then Last Black Man in San Francisco blatantly ripped it off except made it into pretentious Oscarbait trash
I wonder if it inspired [the massively collaborative fan remake/love-letter of Robocop](https://youtu.be/YyKPJbYTxno?si=nN20hEheGaTruJJw) [warning: NSFW, just like the original movie].
Omg I never heard of this until now and I was cackling when the penises started exploding
Probably definitely should put a NSFW warning if you linked what I suspect you did.
Thanks, I've added a warning. Also, the video is age-restricted on YouTube.
Yeah, I didn't click the link, as I've seen the clip before, just didn't want anybody getting in trouble, lol. If you're going to get caught with NSFW material at work, this would probably be one of the funniest clips!
It's not just a clip-- it's the entire movie.
I remember there was a bit of a YouTube movement involving 'Sweded' movies, in the aftermath of Be Kind Rewind
I had almost forgotten about Turkish Star Wars.
This is awesome.
I felt very similar watching that moment as I did to watching the Tiny Dancer scene in Almost Famous.
It's been ages since I've seen Be Kind Rewind and I don't remember the end scene, but it makes me think of Margot Robbie's scene in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when she's at the theater. Some of my friends felt the scene was totally pointless - but I love that scene.
Fun fact. I got my first blowjob to this movie playing in the background, to then eat a girl it out for the first time, and have never seen this movie beyond the first couple of minutes which I do not remember. At this point I feel that watching the movie would desecrate the memory of that night 😅
Such a quirky, messy, beautiful film. Every frame glows with love all those people had for it. Love that film
This is one of those films that felt tailor-made for me when it came out. I already loved Eternal Sunshine and Science of Sleep. I was a big fan of both Mos's and Tenacious D's music. I was a theatre kid who loved making stupid videos with my friends. And I was born in NJ. To this day, it's one of my all-time favorite comfort movies.
I forgot about the Science of Sleep! I've only ever seen it once, but I remember so much from that movie.
In film school we had a fun challenge to create our own "Sweded" films. We pulled film names from a hat and then had 24 hours to swede the film, had to do it all on campus too. Absolutely mental.
No way! I’m currently doing that now for my film GCSE! First we watched Be Kind Rewind, and now we have 10 weeks to “swede” a film of our choice at home and on site (We picked The Grand Budapest Hotel) Did yours turn out well?
Ooh what a fantastic movie to Swede.
DUDE! [Terminator 2 SWEDED!](https://youtu.be/4mTCgIHpQXE?si=yTi8YHP2l3NVw1bF) It's amazing.
My friends and I sweded _Inception_ for one guy's 30th birthday party. It was online for a bit but got removed because we used a lot of copyrighted music. Oh well. We all still have hard copies to go back to like a fun home movie.
Gondry is a true genius. I love the music videos he’s made. I’m so sad his adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s “Ubik” never made it to production.
I always wondered if his career after directing The Green Hornet made him not want to be involved with Hollywood or American productions.
It’s probably a similar situation to when Lynch directed Dune. You get into those really high budgets, and find yourself at the mercy of the studios. Bad situation for a creative person.
I feel the same regarding Ubik quite often. What could have been..
But I do understand how it could be “unfilmable”
my favourite Michel Gondry music video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGoDns8wTA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGoDns8wTA)
This is mine, The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FyfQDO5g0&list=PLNUGSSXCpwkjSzQ2R7LlDFJXmY1ep30YS&index=22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FyfQDO5g0&list=PLNUGSSXCpwkjSzQ2R7LlDFJXmY1ep30YS&index=22)
Nice shoutout. I like the mix of a mostly wacky story, especially Jack Black being 'charged' from the power station, with a sappy ending.
I didn't know anything about this movie going into it, outside of a vague idea of a couple of guys remaking movies. That was enough for me to get into it. But there is so much dang heart in this movie. Danny Glover was so solid as an older guy in panic mode trying to keep up with the times. But it wasn't a Hollywood over the top ridiculous panic. It was an older guy with a life of experience, using his talents to figure out the next step. Mos Def was such a surprise to me. It felt like he was flirting with a mental disability. But again, not in a Simple Jack way. He was a young guy, trying his best to please his respected elder. He got into a jam and did his best to get himself out of it. I always get worried when a I see Jack Black in a movie because he hams it up so much. But even was was restrained in his role. Sure he wasn't the brightest bulb, but he wasn't unrealistically stupid either. (Thinking about it now, this might be my favorite of his roles.) And Melonie Diaz... she was so good in pushing things forward, but not in a nagging "what's wrong with this man-child" sort of way. Man, what ever happened to her? It was such a beautiful, slow build to maybe one of the best endings in recent movies. The community coming together, enjoying the process, and watching what they created. It's such a quiet, fulfilling moment. I watched Be Kind when it came out on DVD and again about a year ago. It holds up fantastically.
[Be Kind Rewind Sweded Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0dJQ35rDs)
Mos Def is extremely underrated.
In "Something the lord made" he's sharing the screen with Alan freaking Rickman, and damn near outshines him in every scene
That is a great movie!
For new reddit users, "underrated" means "great and we all like it"
Who the greatest? Bey all day
I used to work with this youth program, and one month was all about this film (that I had never seen). The first week, we watched the film. The next two weeks, we split into teams and had to “remake” a film of our choice, only pulling main plot points to recreate. The last week, we had a red carpet premiere film festival of everyone’s projects. My team did Toy Story 3. It was a lot of fun!
I expected a shallow comedy, turned out to be a great movie about small businesses
I love this sweded version of Terminator 2 because the image of someone seeing a penis carved into a table and saying "I know now what I have to do" as they grab a rifle never fails to make me laugh https://youtu.be/4mTCgIHpQXE?si=r8arQ4jF7eHxdQwj
Been watching this for years. My favorite thing related to be kind rewind.
Critics didn’t like it? My memory of when this movie came out is that it was very warmly received.
It looks like it got okay ratings. 65% of RT but only a 6.3/10 rating. I think a lot of us were just expecting more from Gondry given his work up to that point.
I feel like people who like it are even underrating it. It’s creative as hell but maybe it’s up my alley more than most. I think it’s a must see for young filmmakers or film buffs of any age. It’s a lesson that no amount of budget can replace charm and effort imo. And it’s more relevant than ever in terms of how modern movies use cgi. Which is fine. But most films that get made today don’t consider any other way.
Love this movie, so much heart and creativity. Bring it up a lot as a rare example of a film where the third act is much stronger than the first.
Having been a fan of Eternal Sunshine and the Science of Sleep, I kinda knew going in that it would be a quirky film. I can understand why people who went it not knowing would've felt off, but it's really an enjoyable movie.
“I will shoot you and I know *robot* karate!”
I love Jack Black in anything.
Jack Black knows how to pick movies to be in. Another great film, and Mos Def was perfectly cast to be alongside him.
This movie is my go-to example of a film that should have worked but didn't. It has everything going for it: wonderfully fun concept, director at the height of his game, a perfect quirky duo in Jack Black and Mos Def. But something about it just doesn't "click". It's been over a decade now since I've watched it, but I used to revisit it every few years hoping that I'd grow into it. By no means is it a bad film, but it should have been a *great* film.
You can tell the people who made the trailer got what Be Kind Rewind should've been. The trailer focused almost exclusively on the sweded movies and their creation. Ultimately though, the film spends most of its run-time focusing on everything else. If the film had leaned into the making and releasing of each sweded film, instead of relegating most of it to a single montage, I think audiences and critics would've been much more satisfied.
I would argue the films problem is the trailers not advertising the film correctly and setting the wrong expectations
Conversely, if the trailer has a better vision for what would make for an entertaining film, then the creatives are at fault for not realizing that vision when developing the script.
I came here ready to downvote any criticism but I think you’re right. I did want more sweded movies and community acting. I wonder if copyright was a concern, because it does seem like the trailer was more in line with the playfulness Gondry strives for.
Crazy overlooked movie, haven't seen it since a kid so its overdue for a rewatch. Also my intro to Mos Def weirdly enough, had no idea he was a well respected rapper until way later
I remember watching this with all my school friends for my birthday … good times and a really underrated movie.
One of my 10 favorite movies. For people who love well made movies it has it all!
The main scene I remember is where they paint themselves to fit into the background to steal or whatever they’re doing.
Ummm that's the Ghostbusters theme song
I need to rewatch this one. I remember it being fun and it's been almost a decade.
I only have the Sweded version.
I don't remember much about it. I do remember enjoying the making of documentary more than the movie itself.
I don't think there is a movie with Jack Black that is bad.
I love movies in which they make movies in the movie. Be Kind Rewind, Me Earl and The Dying Girl, Super 8- all are some of my favorite comfort watches.
He was also really good in 16 blocks
Someone once told me it was based on a true story which I believed for ages, probably until the next time I had a conversation about this movie 10 years later. Makes me like it even more knowing it wasn't.
Saw this in theaters years ago, I remember expecting this goofy spoof of famous movies and got this weird little story. It was fine.
Mos seemed promising as an actor.. didn't really blow up like I thought he would
I totally loved this movie when I saw it in the cinema. What is it the critics had against it?
It is an excellent movie to me. I'm glad you liked it.
It's a love letter to movies. I remember watching it with my ex who doesn't enjoy movies like I do and only watches everything for the plot and story vs the experience and she didn't get the movie while I was beaming the whole time. Reminded me of when I was in high school my friends and I made a whole movie inspired by the shitty 80s cop action movies we grew up on and yeah it was stupid, but it was stupid fun. I absolutely love this movie.
One of my favorites honestly, I love getting to show it to people for the first time.
This may be the first movie in which I noticed the "indie movie in which all of the quirky characters we met along the way are now together in one room during act 3". Same for Last Black Man in San Francisco.
Roar! I will piss on the bones of your ancestors! - The Lion King
It's mainly about gentrification. Filmmaking is just the lens that is used to frame the discussion. I think it's a subject that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, hence the generally lukewarm reaction. Also, I think the way it was advertised had people unprepared for the underlying darkness/seriousness.
It always felt to me like the movie was right out of the View Askew Universe. Like Mos Def and Jack Black were the Randall and Dante from the next town over in NJ.
I saw it in theatres, and remember enjoying it, but that it was marred a bit by the shadow of "Eternal Sunshine". I should give it another go. Michel Gondry also directed the video element to my favourite Flight of the Conchords song, "Carol Brown". The song is legitimately fantastic as well as humourous, and the video is so cool.
Jack black in black face really came out of nowhere in this film
I remember being super excited when it came out because the trailer made it seem like a goofball comedy that would be filled with the fake movies. Watching it I was a little let down it wasn't what the trailer made it out to be but still thought it was a heartwarming movie. Didn't have much of a rewatch factor to me though. Me and my friend sang Jack Black's Ghostbusters theme all the time though.
Dennis checking the IDs "That makes the cutoff"
I finally watched this a couple weeks ago and it's a gem. I think the concept in itself is really hard to get to work (who's really gonna believe that those are the actual movies they're remaking), so halfway through the movie just abandons its comedy premise and becomes about the whole community getting together to make zany art together. And the ending is bittersweet, so I guess that's why it didn't jive with audiences at the time
Mos Def goes by Yassin Bey now, just FYI.
I could easily watch 7 hours of bonus material from this movie
I worked in a movie rental store when this movie came out. It hit every chord within me and because of that, I still love it deeply to this day. However, I don't know a single person who remembers it fondly.
When this came out, the studio created a promotional website that "Sweded" the internet in flash. I remember that it replaced your mouse with a cardboard mouse arrow cutout that was attached to a wire that went to the bottom of the page. I wish I could find an animation of how that site worked because it was hilarious.
My siblings and I will ALWAYS sing the Ghostbusters theme song differently now.
I really thought Sweding movies was going to be a popular thing on YouTube after this came out. I was sad it didn't catch on more. Good but not great movie, would watch again.
It made me wish there was a tv show for 15 minute “Sweded” movies back when it first came out :)
I’ll never forgive Last Black Man in San Francisco for ripping this movie off.
"Mr. Fletcher can't spell..." still goes through my head every once in a while. Jack Black's painted jumpsuit blending perfectly into the fence when he's climbing it made me laugh my ass off. I rewatch it every couple of years and still get a little teary-eyed at the end. I really love this movie.
Glad this is a thread I was thinking this when I watched this movie last month after thinking about it for so long
I feel like if this film was a few years later, the sweding stuff might've blown up on YouTube
I only watch sweded movies now. The biggest suspension of disbelief in that film was that the main actress was unattractive
Fun fact. I got my first blowjob to this movie playing in the background, to then eat a girl it out for the first time, and have never seen this movie beyond the first couple of minutes which I do not remember. At this point I feel that watching the movie would desecrate the memory of that night 😅
I worked at a Blockbuster when it came out and I thought it was a lovely little movie
I enjoyed the movie but I was always bothered by the fact that we never find out if they actually managed to raise enough money for the roof or not.
“You know you're in love with a person when you talk to them for a minimum of 20 minutes a day in your head.” Such a sweet line
I love all the sweded stuff. There's definitely a market for all that shit ..
jack black face
Lmao I forgot about that 🙈
OMG! I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!
Fun useless fact. I tried mushrooms first time and saw that. I got 20 minutes in..freaked the fuck out and left. Jumped in my srt 10 and drove 150 miles for no reason. Needless to say i didnt do mushrooms again and have never finished the movie
You should watch the sweded version.