By Robert Scucci
| Published
Have you ever had a friend tell you about the eventful day they had that sounds so entirely made up that you wonder if they’re going to end the story with “and then everybody clapped”? This is exactly the kind of day that happens in 1995’s Empire Records, the most ‘90s movie to ever come out of the ‘90s. If you’re ready to take a trip down nostalgia lane with this critically panned cult classic, Empire Records goes well with your best oversized flannel, Sponge cassette tape, and memories of a time where you had to walk into a physical store to purchase music and actually interact with people.
Move Over, Music Town
Empire Records kicks off with Lucas (Rory Cochrane) stealing $9,000 from his boss, Joe Reaves (Anthony LaPaglia), the store manager, after assuming he’s selling the store to a large national chain called Music Town. Lucas, in his infinite wisdom, figures that if he can score big in Atlantic City, he could raise enough funds to let Joe keep the store in his name. What Lucas didn’t know is that Joe already had plans to save the store, which he has single-handedly ruined because he’s not good at gambling, and now the store needs to recover from its $9,000 loss.
Joining in on the fun is the artistic A.J. (Johnny Whitworth), his intellectually inclined love interest, Corey Mason (Liv Tyler), the token blonde, Gina (Renee Zellweger), the stoned slacker, Mark (Ethan Embry), and the suicidal misanthrope, Debra (Rubin Tunney).
This ragtag group of miscreants – which is a cliché phrase in and of itself but the most suitable way to describe everybody in Empire Records – has to figure out a way to raise money to save the eponymous store from its impending buyout at the hands of its owner, Mitchell Beck (Ben Bode), one ironic sigh of indignation at a time, and they’ll all learn something about themselves in the process. But first, they have to cater to the whims of Rex Manning (Maxwell Caulfield), the washed up ‘80s pop star who’s signing records for Rex Manning Day, a doorbusting event that’s sure to help Empire Records get back in the black.
A One-Stop Cliché Shop
Channeling some serious Breakfast Club energy, Empire Records is, in a way, a spiritual successor to the ‘80s classic, but somehow more egregious.
Does the goth have a meltdown and shave her head in the bathroom? Of course she does! Does the token blonde seduce Rex Manning after her best friend makes a failed attempt to do the same? Absolutely.
What about the stoned slacker … does he eat a special brownie and think he’s living in a GWAR music video? You guessed it!
For every single coming-of-age cliché Empire Records embodies, it still has a kind of charm to it that’ll keep you from watching too critically. I don’t know if it’s because this movie was aired on Comedy Central 100 times a week when I was growing up and I just like the familiarity it offers, or if this is just one of the movies that reminded me of simpler times when a good mixtape was all you needed to get through the day.
But I can see the appeal, especially 30 years later, as Empire Records is a sort of time capsule of a now bygone era.
Is Empire Records a great movie? Absolutely not. But if you grew up in a certain time and place, and have fond memories of watching this film while home sick from school in the ‘90s, you’ll get exactly what you’re looking for out of it, and nothing more.
That’s okay though. Sometimes you want cinematic art, and sometimes you want adult catnip in the form of ‘90s nostalgia. If you’re looking to enjoy the latter, Empire Records is currently streaming on Hulu.
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