"You guys. Listen. You guys. Life without civilization is brutal, nasty and...short! If you're gonna' come around here and spread pizza all over the walls with your gats, you're gonna' miss out on some good movies."- Jerry (Jack Black)
I was going to write, I can't remember a movie this charming about the restorative magic of movies since "Cinema Paradiso." But, forget the qualification, this is one of the more charming movies I've seen in a while, period. I was duped into skipping it by the cumulative lukewarm reviews on Metacritic.com. (Yeah, I'm talking to you Robert Wilonsky, who crawled up in your soul and blew out the pilot light?). But something about it just got to me.
I'll admit it's a loose-limbed mess at times. You'd love to see more of the "sweded" movies on-screen. And you wish the "let's make a film!"-film were better. And Jack Black only just barely operates within the limits of my patience here, but who cares? Open your heart.
A large part of Be Kind's (nice, right?) appeal is Michel Gondry's abiding, open-hearted creativity. Sure, the movie's set in a fairytale version of Passaic, NJ. And the Benetton-ready cast seems only marginally less idealized since a certain Democrat beat the paste out of Billary. But that's the hook, the idea that creativity and love and assuming the best of your fellow man, not settling for, or even cynically finding pleasure in, the worst of the other guy, can get you through.
[Spoiler-ish] I only have one wish for Santa here. If you've seen it, how great would it have been if the final shot had pulled back to reveal a movie set, the storefronts were only facades on a lot, the crane shot revealed a second smaller crane? Too clever?
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