Welcome to another edition of Awesomely Shitty Movies here at Enuffa.com, where I take a closer look at either a flawed old favorite, a lofty disappointment, or a cult flop. Today's subject is the latter. It's the 1995 box office bomb Empire Records
, a film that was little more than a thin excuse to sell a soundtrack album, but with a surprisingly accomplished cast and a heart that's actually in the right place.
Empire Records is yet another 90s slacker comedy that takes place in one day, centered around a group of teens working in a music store. The assistant manager learns at the outset that the store's owner is getting ready to sell this Delaware fixture to a retail chain, and takes drastic measures to try and prevent this tragedy. The rest of the story sort of hinges on this moment, but each character has his or her own personal arc, and for a critical and commercial bomb the screenwriters juggled all these threads somewhat admirably. But yeah, this movie absolutely TANKED at the box office and didn't gain any real recognition until its home video release, where it became a cult favorite.
Side note, Regency Enterprises executive Michael Nathanson greenlit this film, and was approached two days later with the script for a little movie called
Clueless, which he promptly turned down because he was already making a teen movie.
Clueless of course went on to make a huge profit for Paramount. Goddamn, that's gotta sting.
So let's settle into this record store groove and separate the hit songs from the stinkers....
The Awesome
Cast/Characters
For a teen comedy that flopped with both audiences and critics, this movie has a helluva lot of acting talent and future-star power. Two-time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Anthony LaPaglia, Debi Mazar, Robin Tunney, Maxwell Caulfield, and a few future character actors in Ethan Randall, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth and Brendan Sexton. That's a pretty deep cast, and their respective characters supply many of the film's charms. Pretty much every character is likable/relatable in some way. Joe is the reluctant father-figure who'd do anything for his staff, Corey is the anxious overachiever, Gina is the loose girl with a heart of gold, AJ is the likable art student who's heartsick for Corey, Lucas is the lovable scamp who wants to save the store from becoming a stuffy corporate retailer. This cast and their performances elevate the trite script above its station.
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| I like this group of crazy kids.... |
Capturing the 90s
90s nostalgia is big these days, and
Empire Records has a ton of it. Thus for us sad old adults, watching it now is like being transported back to those carefree college days of short skirts, Doc Martens, mom jeans, flannel shirts, front-curtained men's hairstyles (think 90s Johnny Depp), and post-grunge alternative. Which brings us to the soundtrack, really the driving force of the film.
Empire Records was reviewed at the time as "a soundtrack in search of a movie," and I can't really argue much. This movie feels like it was made just to sell records, thus the CD is loaded with transitory 90s artists like Gin Blossoms, Edwyn Collins, The Cranberries, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Better Than Ezra, while the film also includes Sponge, Dishwalla, Ass Ponys, etc.
Empire Records is exploding with 90s pop culture and it's hard now not to get swept up in all of it, particularly as someone who lived through that era.
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| Short-ass skirt? Check. Bare midruff? Check. Sad clown hair? Check. |
