The Be Kind Rewind video rental store is facing hard times as their customers dwindle and the building itself faces demolition. The owner, Mr. Fletcher, is old fashioned and eccentric. He refuses to switch from VHS tapes to DVDs, and claims the store is a historical site since it was supposedly the birthplace of jazz legend Fats Waller.
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He leaves Mike, the only clerk working at the store, look after the place while he is off on a trip. But while he is gone, Mike's clumsy friend Jerry accidentally becomes magnetized and subsequently erases every tape in the store when he visits Mike during his shift.
In order to cover up the loss, the duo decide to simply remake the movies themselves, and start with Ghostbusters, a movie that Mr. Fletcher's lady friend has asked to rent but never seen before. The result is successful enough that they do another one, and soon word spreads and the cheap but fun knock off movies become a neighborhood hit and they start casting locals in them.
When Mr. Fletcher gets back, he realizes he has something special on his hands and joins the two in making more of their films. Things go well until the authorities get wind of it, they are accused of copyright violation and the tapes are destroyed. Furthermore, Mr. Fletcher confesses that he made up the Waller connection and there is no legal reason to halt the demolition.
With everything looking bleak, Mike and Jerry need to find some way to inspire Mr. Fletcher to go on fighting, maybe with one last movie project.
Best part of story, including ending:
The copycat movies are really a lot of fun, they use super low budget household items to re-enact familiar scenes.
Best scene in story:
The Robocop re-enactment, when Jack Black says he knows robot karate. They don't really stick to the original scripts that tightly :)
Opinion about the main character:
Mike and Jerry are both pretty sweet, well meaning guys.
