# Be Kind Rewind
**Be Kind Rewind** is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by [Michel Gondry](https://www.edgepedia.org/michel-gondry), in which two friends accidentally erase every videotape in a New Jersey video store and then re-film the lost movies themselves with a camcorder and no budget. It stars [Jack Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-black) as Jerry, Yasiin Bey ([Mos Def](https://www.edgepedia.org/mos-def)) as Mike, Danny Glover as the store's owner Mr. Fletcher, Mia Farrow as Miss Falewicz, and Melonie Diaz as Alma[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind). The film was released in the United States on February 22, 2008 by New Line Cinema, rated PG-13 for some sexual references[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Michel Gondry, his fifth feature film, following *The Science of Sleep* (2005)[3](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4115-be-kind-rewind) |
| Principal cast | Jack Black (Jerry), Yasiin Bey/Mos Def (Mike), Danny Glover (Mr. Fletcher), Mia Farrow (Miss Falewicz), Melonie Diaz (Alma)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind) |
| US release | February 22, 2008, wide, distributed by New Line Cinema; PG-13[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/) |
| Box office | $11,175,164 domestic (36.5%), $19,404,242 international (63.5%), $30,579,406 worldwide; domestic opening $4,100,000[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/) |
| Critical reception | Rotten Tomatoes 64% Tomatometer from 125 reviews, 56% audience score; Metacritic Metascore 52 from 35 critics[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-kind-rewind/) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Ellen Kuras, music Jean-Michel Bernard, editing Jeff Buchanan[5](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/132668/en/interview/410044/) |
| Production | Partizan and New Line Cinema[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind) • [6](https://buf.com/films/be-kind-rewind/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Jerry, a man living in [Passaic, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/passaic-new-jersey), becomes magnetized after an encounter with a power plant and unintentionally erases every tape in Be Kind Rewind, the VHS-only video store where his friend Mike works[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/22/rewind-making-a-scene-in-a-good-way/90090af5-6579-4ebc-9454-fda93d0b3827/) • [8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/be-kind-rewind). To keep the business running and satisfy its customers, the two men re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, at a budget of zero dollars[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/). Their first effort is a remake of *Ghostbusters*, set to the [Ray Parker Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-parker-jr) theme song; later titles include *Back to the Future*, *The Lion King*, and *RoboCop*[9](https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240314/2008-02-28/ed-1/seq-29.pdf) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind). The homemade versions prove popular with the neighborhood, but lawyers eventually arrive claiming copyright infringement[9](https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240314/2008-02-28/ed-1/seq-29.pdf).
The store itself sits on a corner in a rundown neighborhood, and the film ties it to local lore about the jazz musician [Fats Waller](https://www.edgepedia.org/fats-waller), who is said to have been born there[10](https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/be-kind-rewind) • [11](https://www.chevalierfamilylaity.org/movie-reviews/416-signis-reviews-2008/file).
## Sweding
The amateur remakes in the film are called "sweded" films, a term Gondry himself coined; the practice of amateurs recycling film history into their own versions for YouTube was endorsed by the film and named by its director[12](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2010/12/07/internet-et-cinema-esquisse-des-frontieres-d-un-territoire-mouvant_5976682_3476.html). Gondry later extended the idea off screen. He wrote a book, *The Be Kind Rewind Protocol*, intended, in his own words, to "put the tools of filmmaking in the hands of as many people as possible"[13](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/3222/1/www.swarmtv.net_JemMackay.pdf) • [14](https://www.marseille.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/culture/pdf/descriptif_usine-de-films-amateurs_de_michel_gondry_chateau-buzine.pdf). In interviews he described his related project *L'Usine de films amateurs* as closer to a neighborhood video club than to the internet, with the idea that people could take up the protocol around the world, exchange their own cassettes, and bypass the Hollywood system[15](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2011/02/23/michel-gondry-interview-bonus_5981126_3476.html).
The visual effects house BUF Compagnie ran tests for Gondry on the film; he ultimately chose a fairly subtle look, reasoning that the film had to be funny but not so outrageous that audiences would stop believing it[6](https://buf.com/films/be-kind-rewind/).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reported 64% of 125 critics positive, with the site's critics consensus calling the film "slighter and less disciplined than Gondry's previous mind-benders"; the audience score was 56%[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind). Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 52, labeled mixed or average, from 35 critic reviews, while registered users gave it 6.6[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-kind-rewind/). Reviewers singled out the remakes as the film's strength: the Washington Post called the movie remakes hilarious, especially a group reinterpretation of *When We Were Kings*, and praised the climactic scene as an ode to cinema[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/22/rewind-making-a-scene-in-a-good-way/90090af5-6579-4ebc-9454-fda93d0b3827/). Others were cooler; Variety found that the film's flights of fancy could not overcome the illogic of its premise[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-kind-rewind/), and the Guardian's Philip French called it "a sentimental, whimsical embarrassment", while his colleague Peter Bradshaw gave it three of five stars and called it funny and entertaining[16](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/122751/be.kind.rewind).
Commercially, the film earned $4,100,000 in its domestic opening and finished with $11,175,164 in the United States and $30,579,406 worldwide, with 63.5% of the total from international markets[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/). It was released on video on June 17, 2008 by Turner Home Entertainment[17](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Kind-Rewind).
## Versions and legacy
Reported running times differ across databases: Cineuropa lists 94 minutes, Rotten Tomatoes 1h 41m, [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) 1 hr 42 min, the Guardian 100 minutes, and the Washington Post 101 minutes[5](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/132668/en/interview/410044/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/) • [16](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/122751/be.kind.rewind) • [7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/22/rewind-making-a-scene-in-a-good-way/90090af5-6579-4ebc-9454-fda93d0b3827/).
The film's title phrase echoes the standard VHS-era request to renters to rewind tapes for the next customer, and the store at the center of the story stocks VHS only[8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/be-kind-rewind). The name was later taken by a YouTube channel devoted to long-form film-history video essays, founded by Izzy Custodio, which has accumulated over 350,000 subscribers and 45 million views[18](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/movies/be-kind-rewind-youtuber-izzy-custodio-interview/).
## References
1. [Be Kind Rewind, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/be_kind_rewind)
2. [Be Kind Rewind (2008), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0799934/credits/)
3. [Be Kind Rewind, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival program](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4115-be-kind-rewind)
4. [Be Kind Rewind Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/be-kind-rewind/)
5. [Be Kind Rewind, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/132668/en/interview/410044/)
6. [Be Kind Rewind, BUF](https://buf.com/films/be-kind-rewind/)
7. ["'Rewind': Making a Scene in a Good Way", The Washington Post, February 21, 2008](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/22/rewind-making-a-scene-in-a-good-way/90090af5-6579-4ebc-9454-fda93d0b3827/)
8. [Be Kind Rewind Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/be-kind-rewind)
9. ["Movies by Jason Blair", Eugene Register-Guard reprint, February 28, 2008, University of Oregon Newspapers archive](https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240314/2008-02-28/ed-1/seq-29.pdf)
10. [Be Kind Rewind review by James Berardinelli, Reelviews](https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/be-kind-rewind)
11. [Signis Film Reviews 2008](https://www.chevalierfamilylaity.org/movie-reviews/416-signis-reviews-2008/file)
12. ["Internet et cinéma : esquisse des frontières d'un territoire mouvant", Le Monde, December 7, 2010](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2010/12/07/internet-et-cinema-esquisse-des-frontieres-d-un-territoire-mouvant_5976682_3476.html)
13. [Jem Mackay, thesis discussing the Be Kind Rewind Protocol, Falmouth University repository](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/3222/1/www.swarmtv.net_JemMackay.pdf)
14. [Le Be Kind Rewind Protocole / L'Usine de films amateurs descriptif, Ville de Marseille](https://www.marseille.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/culture/pdf/descriptif_usine-de-films-amateurs_de_michel_gondry_chateau-buzine.pdf)
15. ["Michel Gondry, interview bonus", Le Monde, February 23, 2011](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2011/02/23/michel-gondry-interview-bonus_5981126_3476.html)
16. [Be Kind Rewind, The Guardian film page](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/122751/be.kind.rewind)
17. [Be Kind Rewind (2008), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Be-Kind-Rewind)
18. ["Unpack Awards Season With This Insider-y YouTuber", Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/movies/be-kind-rewind-youtuber-izzy-custodio-interview/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2008*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license