Watching this for the first time ever in 2022 was a fever dream and I loved every second of it :joy:
If you like The Breakfast Club, I think you’ll appreciate this movie.
If you grew up in the 80s/90s this is pure nostalgia goodness. If you didn't, give it a pass. As a member of Generation X this is a good flick to dig out once every few years and remember a time when everything seemed easier.
Channeling the spirit of John Hughes and the 80s, Empire Records is a sort of Breakfast Club for Generation Z. It's a story of misfits and underdogs thrown together on one ordinary yet extraordinary day that changes things forever.
When I discovered this gem via a friend sometime in the very early '00s, I'd watch it on a weekly—nay daily—basis. Amongst our circle of friends it became a cult classic, with characters who are instantly quotable (none more so than Rory Cochrane's zen-like Lucas) and a soundtrack that was legendary (even, and in fact especially, Rex Manning's kitch 'Say No More').
Clearly all these bad reviews have been written by The Man. Damn The Man, save the Empire!
I don't know, looking at reviews I guess I gotta consider this a guilty pleasure. Because I love it, always have. It's a nostalgic good time, features a great soundtrack, fun characters and performances and does a good job of highlighting a youthful optimism.
While the movie is decent to watch. However, the soundtrack may be soundtracks of the best ones ever.
Liv Tyler's belly button is the real star of the show.
I love the ‘90s: the era, the music. The more a movie can act as a time capsule for the decade, the more I love it.
Empire Records does not do this. It feels very much like a confused ‘80s movie trying to play grunge dress up. It really does come across like a John Hughes movie, painted with a coat of Seattle grey. Singles, Reality Bites, The Craft, these are true ‘90s movies.
Empire Records, on the other hand, is as much a '90s movie as Clueless (released the same year). Yeah, they both happened to be released during the decade, but you change the soundtrack (which, for Empire Records, is very weak), and clothing (again, Empire Records feels like mall grunge rather than a thrift store) and they could exist during any period.
Anyway, more of a rant, rather than a review. The movie itself is pretty boring. It takes place, mostly, during a single day. The characters are all annoying in their own way. The acting is all pretty subpar, except for Renee Zellweger (who I honestly though, up until this very moment, was Joey Lauren Adams), and Robin Tuney, who came to play. The fourth-wall breaks don’t help, in fact, they only serve to take me out of the moment and remind me that I am watching a movie... a shitty movie, at that.
Harsh criticism aside, there is a charm to the movie, and I could understand why some people would like it. I was full of teenage angst when the movie was released, and now I'm bored and old. In other words, a '90s movie that feels like a stage play just doesn't appeal to me. However, while watching it, I can get sucked into entertaining moments.
This movie is 26 years old today. And it has not aged well. Watch Airheads instead.
I kinda like it. For some reason it was kind of a feel-good movie to watch (at least for me, since there's so many negative reviews about it). I mean it's a chill movie. Crazy characters and a bland story.
This one was been much better off as a fond memory; digging it out of the archives for a modern viewing just made me question the judgment of my younger self. A storeful of vapid, self-absorbed caricatures come together to hawk records, listen to radio-friendly '90s mush and reveal just how shallow they truly are as a collective. A very young Liv Tyler and Reneé Zellweger show some skin and look good doing so, but that's pretty much the only highlight. Whoever chose the soundtrack for this needs to be deafened for the good of all mankind; for a store that's supposed to be all about the anti-establishment, it's got very bland, mainstream tastes.
Not even a youthful Liv Tyler in her undies can save this trash fire. Dreadful on every level. I actually want to commit violence against this film, it's that bad.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2016-12-19T02:51:21Z
This is not a good movie, but I sure do love it. Empire Records has characters that are just wild enough that you have to love them. There are some moments that get a little too sappy but for the most part its a worry free way to spend 90 minutes.