Michel Gondry began making a name for himself in the music video world. He plied his trade with such artists as Beck, Bjork, The White Stripes, and The Chemical Brothers. In 2001, Gondry made his first appearance a big screen director with Human Nature. Since then, he has been behind a series of interesting and quirky films that succeed to varying degrees.

His latest feature is Be Kind, Rewind, a fun little film that pays tribute to the old school communities and conveys a genuine love for the cinema. It has a delightful do-it-yourself aura and provides genuine laughs and plenty of heart. Is not perfect, but it builds up plenty of goodwill that helps you look past its faults and focus on what it gets right.

Watching Be Kind, Rewind I was reminded of a film made more than twenty years ago. The two movies would not seem to have a lot in common and I may be misremembering the facts, but the connection is in the genuine heart of its respective characters. That other film? It is none other than *batteries not included. That film concerned a group of tenants in a building slated to be torn down who receive help from an unlikely source. The community of modern day Passaic, New Jersey, bands together for the simple reason that they are a community. It really is touching, even if it ends up being a small part of the whole.

As Gondry's film opens. we learn of a jazz musician, Fats Waller, and how he was born in what would become the Be Kind, Rewind video rental shop. We are told of how he was the center of the community and its claim to fame. It is a story that has become something of a legend, with each family claiming a piece of the whole.

The story then shifts to Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover); he is the owner of the video shop and keeper of the tales of Fats Waller. He is also the father figure to Mike (Mos Def), a young man who works in the shop and has deep feelings for Mr. Fletcher and the community. He is best friends with Jerry (Jack Black), a slightly goofy and immature mechanic who lives in an RV in a junkyard adjacent to a power plant (causing him and any guest to wear colanders on their heads to protect themselves).