qual parts comedy, satire and sloppy sentiment, the latest movie from the exceedingly rich imagination of writer/director Michel Gondry (the director behind Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and The Science Of Sleep) pays homage, to a certain degree, to the dearly departed VHS tape. "Be Kind Rewind" is a quirky comedy that will nonetheless be an acquired taste for some - a tolerance for Jack Black's schtick will go a long way- and too terminally sentimental for others.

The story involves two best friends (Jack Black and Mos Def) who, due to a bizarre misfortune, try to recreate famous movies when they accidentally erase all of the videotapes in the shop.

Mike (Def) works in a ramshackle Passaic, N.J. rental store owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). Mr. Fletcher, who is an avid Fats Waller fan, takes an out-of-town trip to scope out shinier video stores, and Mike is left to run the store. But when the boss is away, Mike will play... and his car mechanic chum Jerry (Black), ha a ludicrous accident at a local power plant that causes his body to be “magnetized,” and accidentally erases every videotape in the shop.

With nothing but blank tapes to flog to the customers, Mike and Jerry hurriedly re-create Ghostbusters for a persuading regular customer, Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who happens to be Mr. Fletcher's eyes and ears in his absence. With just one handheld video camera, they manage to pull it off: the gooey marsh mellow monster, the sound track, the saving of New York City.