Film: Director Michel Gondry has more than impressively proven with films like "Forget My Not" and "Science of Sleep" that he knows best how to bring his sometimes very whimsical imagination to the screen in an original, quirky and above all innovative way. And for his latest film, the comedy "Abgedreht", Gondry has once again put together some enchantingly wacky ideas. Unfortunately, the film doesn't quite live up to the promise of the wonderful idea.
Fully proud, Mike (Mos Def) has taken on the job of running Mr. Fletcher's (Danny Glover) video store while he's out of town for a few days. Too bad he doesn't heed Mr. Fletcher's warning not to let wacky Jerry (Jack Black) into the video store. Because after an unsightly incident in an electrical plant, Jerry is magnetically charged from head to toe, erasing all videotapes. It's a disaster, as Mr. Fletcher doesn't offer DVDs and customers are clamoring for their favorite VHS movies. But then the two have a saving idea: they simply re-shoot the films, buying time to organize replacements for the erased tapes. But then the unbelievable happens: their "geschwedeten" films become the absolute hit and Mike and Jerry become the stars of their neighborhood. But that is far from the end of their problems.
Even if the igniting spark does not really want to jump over during the entire running time of the film and the story gets lost again and again in somewhat too chaotic sequences, the affectionate inventiveness with which Mike and Jerry re-enact movies like "Ghostbusters", "Robocop" or - especially wonderful - "2001" is alone reason enough to watch this comedy. Gondry's playfulness, his love of film, and his penchant for whimsy make "Wacky" a real pleasure, both in content and visuals.
The cast, led by Mos Def and a delightfully chaotic Jack Black as always, but also veteran stars Danny Glover and Mia Farrow, imbue their characters with a great deal of warmth, making them utterly accessible and endearing even in their weaker moments. What comes as a bit of a bitter pill upon reflection, however, is the fact that Gondry could have made a far better, more amusing film with the ideas he clearly had. Somehow, the French filmmaker seems to have lost himself too much in his world to realize that he also needs a really good story to really flourish in it. And unfortunately, that's what's too obviously lacking here.
But even if "Abgedreht" falls short of its potential, the bottom line is that Gondry has succeeded in making a comedy that's a lot more original than most of the slapstick comedies that have been littering movie theaters in recent years. The wonderfully cheesy ending, the clips from the "wedded" films and the wonderfully put together soundtrack also ensure that "Abgedreht" has become absolutely worth watching, at least for all lovers of Michael Gondry's films, but also for cinema lovers per se.
The Director`s Cut:The DVD version is touted as the director`s cut, though it differs only minimally from the theatrical version. Gondry has added a single scene to the film, barely 1 minute long, which benefits the character of Mr. Fletcher, as his intentions to spy on Jerry and Mike are explained a little better here. Otherwise, however, there is no more footage to discover on the DVD.
Picture + Sound: Technically, the DVD is good average. The picture is clean and sharp, with only the contrasts being a little too much of a good thing. The sound is very front-heavy and overall very unspectacular. Even if the film is not necessarily bristling with elaborate sound effects, more would certainly have been feasible here.
Extras: Praiseworthy here is that in the area of bonus material on the German disc is more to find than on the extremely sparsely equipped US disc. It starts off with a very nice making of, which has more to offer than the usual promotional platitudes. With a running time of just under half an hour, the documentary also manages to cover much of the production in detail. The music in the film is covered in the featurette "Booker T & Michel Gondry". There's also an amusing conversation between Gondry and lead actor Jack Black, song improvisations by Mos Def and Jack Black, the complete Fats Waller film, a short portrait of the town of Passaic taken during filming, and clips from an exclusive concert Mos Def gave in Paris. All in all, that's 75 minutes of decent bonus material. It's just a shame that the wonderful "geschwedeten" trailer for the film is missing, as is the actual original trailer or anything more of the works "geschwedeten" in the film.
Conclusion: "Abgedreht" falls short of its potential, but overall is a lovingly and amusingly made homage to cinema. Technically, the DVD is only average, but the bonus material is a package worth seeing. Therefore: Absolutely recommendable!
Original title: Be Kind Rewind
Director: Michel Gondry
Length: approx. 96 min.
FSK: age 12+ (main film: o.Al.)
Number of discs: 1
Languages: German, English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: German
Image Format: 16:9 (2.35:1)
Extras: Making of, Interview, Featurette, Fats Waller Film, Concert Clips
Country Code: 2
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Here is the trailer for the movie:
And here's the "waved" trailer:
