Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind is a schizophrenic movie. Two otherwise incompatible scripts got mashed together because they both featured a VHS tape video store. The first script is about two funny guys who kind of accidently erase all the VHS tapes, and end up 'Swedeing' the tapes with their own version of the movies. This part of the film made me laugh out loud, several times.

The second script is about the video store losing it's lease, and how the owner tries to make changes. It's something of a drama, with pathos. Not very funny, and kind of sad and stupid. These two scripts absolutely fail to come together in any meaningful way, which kind of spoils the whole point of each movie. Very weird film, but lots of funny bits, and some inspired, if offbeat, art design.

Sweded videos are amatuer productions of Hollywood movies. There are a lot of great Sweded videos, abd they can be great. As an example, here's the films trailer:

And here's the Sweded version of that same trailer:

Here's another Sweded film, a homemade version of Star Wars:

There's lots more out there, I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding them if you're interested. One note about the venue where I saw the film: The Clyde theatre in Langley. I've seen at least a hundred movies at the Clyde, and rarely had any problems with the quality. In fact, the Clyde has consistently delivered a great movie-going experience, unlike the little multi-plexs in Oak Harbor and Anacortes. That said, the last two times in a row the projection quality at the Clyde has been bad. Last Sunday, at The Other Boleyn Girl, the focus was off on the third reel. That's one of the reasons I walked out -- the only redeeming value in that movie was that it was pretty, and off-focus it wasn't pretty anymore.

Last night, at Be Kind Rewind, the third reel didn't even start until someone woke up in the booth. Kind of takes you out of the film when you get to watch all the stuff at the end of the reel, wait for the other reel to be loaded, and then wait again for the focus and alignment. Here's hoping these are isolated incidents.

Be Kind Rewind earns a Shot in the Dark, because it made me laugh. Take Danny Glover and the pathos-drama script away, and it would be a solid single shot.

Movies on Whidbey Island.