Empire Records (1995) Movie Review

 Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm doing pretty well. I just finished watching Empire Records with the gang from The VHS Club Podcast, and this week is already pretty crazy, so I decided to write my review while the movie was fresh in my mind. I may include minor spoilers, but, as usual, I'm not going to go through every plotpoint or anything crazy like that. Let's get into it!

Released on September 22nd, 1995, Empire Records takes place in a record store of the same name, over the course of one day. It stars Anthony LaPaglia, Liv Tyler, Renee Zellweger, Ethan Embry, Debi Mazar, and Robin Tunney, among others. 

So tonight was my very first time seeing this movie. With it having come out in late 1995, it wasn't a movie I would've gotten to see as I was 8 years old, going on 9, when it came out. Knowing this is one of Katie and Nat's favourite movies, I was excited to see it. I really wasn't sure what to expect going into the movie. I really enjoyed it though. It did get heavy at times, talking about mental health in a way that most '90s movies shied away from. However, I think it did a great job of handling it.

The cast is spectacular. Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger's characters, Corey and Gina, were my favourite characters, as well as Ethan Embry's character, Mark. There was just something about them specifically that I really grabbed onto. Mark was just this goofy kid, who worked at the store, and both Liv and Renee played the meltdowns of Corey and Gina during their big fight really well. It was raw and emotional, and very well done.

Robin Tunney's character, Deb, also caught my attention. She very much reminds me of people who have been part of my life. One very close friend in particular, who is still part of my life today. Thankfully. Deb explaining that she wanted to die because she felt invisible hit me deep because of that friend, and another friend who hasn't been with us in 18 years (as of July). I'm not familiar with Robin's work, but she did a wonderful job playing Deb.

The moment that really endeared the movie to me was at the very beginning where Lucas (played by Rory Cochrane), A.J. (played by Johnny Whitworth) walk to the store, entering the one next to it, and you see a Super Nintendo in the store's window. Reminding myself that this movie came out in 1995, and was most likely filmed in 1994, it still surprised me to see it since the Sega Genesis would've still been the SNES's competitor at the time (the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation hadn't come out yet when the movie was filmed). So it was cool to see it in a store window in a movie set in the '90s that was also made in the '90s.

The music in this movie is fantastic. The only songs I actually recognized in the movie were "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits, as it appeared in at least one episode of The Goldbergs during its ten year run, and "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. All the way back in 2007, when YouTube was first starting I looked up the music video, knowing it was the first music video that aired on MTV in the U.S. back in 1981, which my Communications Technology (Commtech) teacher told me at some point during my last two years of high school. So, even though I wasn't around in 1981, I still have fond memories attached to that song and its music video. The rest of the soundtrack was great. Particularly when Gina sings "Sugar High" by Coyote Shivers, who also plays the character, Berko, in the movie, who sings the song with her.

It sucks that Empire Records bombed when it originally came out, but, like so many movies do, it found its audience on home video, starting in 1996 when it was originally released on VHS. 

I really enjoyed the movie. You couldn't get away with making it today the way they made it back in the '90s, but that's what makes it so interesting and so much fun to watch. It's a time capsule of 1995. It also reminds me of going to places like HMV (defunct Canadian mall music store chain), Sunrise Records (its successor), and Odds & Sods (a smaller, independent, local, media store). Just because of how the Empire Records store looks. Honestly, if you've never seen it, I definitely recommend giving Empire Records a watch. It's currently streaming on Disney+ here in Canada, and is available on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray. 

Alright my friends, I think that's going to be it for me for tonight. I've got a pretty busy day tomorrow, so I don't think I'll have another blog post out tomorrow. But, there's one I'd really like to do on Friday. I won't say what it is now, but it's going to be a good one. Until then, have a great night and I will talk to you all later. Take care.