For any of you who had the good fortune of catching Michel Gondry’s 2004 cult hit, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or his brilliant follow-up The Science of Sleep, then you may have high expectations for his newest work installment of hyper-creative comedy, Be Kind Rewind. The film far surpasses expectations, especially considering the initially questionable chemistry of Gondry with a couple of A-list stars such as Mos Def and Jack Black.

However, Black shines in this bizarre film, just as Jim Carrey did before him in Eternal Sunshine. His popular screwball antics are perfectly augmented by Gondry’s skilled direction, and Black and Def have a unique and lovable chemistry.

The film centers on Mike (Mos Def), the hapless clerk at a New Jersey video store with the same name as the film. His best friend, Jerry, is a bit of a maniac, residing down the street in a Winnebago under some sketchy-looking power lines. After a botched attempt to destroy the power lines that Jerry believes are giving him cancer, he becomes magnetized and proceeds to enter the video store and erase all of the VHS tapes.

An aging customer (Mia Farrow) arrives to rent from the store to find the place in shambles, and threatens to tell the owner if Mike does not right the wrong of his friend. Fearing repercussions from his absent boss (Danny Glover), Mike teams up with Jerry and the two decide to create their own homemade versions of such classic films as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour II and Driving Miss Daisy.

Soon, the sloppy, low-quality reproductions become a hit not only in town, but in neighboring New York City, and the team decides to save the failing video store by creating custom movies for each customer.

While the premise is beyond outlandish, like most of his other works, Gondry presents it to the audience in such a clever and beautiful fashion that it is hard not to adore. Many of the movie recreations were left to the discretion of Black and Def, and they will undoubtedly be watched on YouTube over and over again during the coming months.

It is hard to express how imaginative some of Gondry’s methods are without giving away some of the films biggest laughs, but it is an understatement to say that audiences will be quite surprised and inspired by nearly all of the “sweded” movies (Black coins the term “sweded” off the top of his head as he speaks with a customer about his work.).

Glover and Farrow also deliver fine performances. And of course there is plenty of off-the-wall behavior to gawk at as Black conveys his signature sense of humor to no end.

The film has its flaws, notably the tongue-in-cheek acting of nearly every star. Some of the situations are a bit too bizarre and childish to be funny, but in the end, audiences will be left touched by the film’s heartwarming messages on the importance of DIY and friendship.