Empire Records
Teen movies of the nineties had extremely similar themes and narrative nuances that make them unforgettable in our time. The tartan mini-skirts, crop t-shirts clad ladies wooed by the curtained boys with baggy pants and shirts all set to a soundtrack of grunge and pop punk music are distinct elements that make us all sigh back nostalgically to a time period steeped in similar embarrassment to the decade before it. Films of the time definitely struggled to find their own voice with many often achieving more success than others - crucially and commercially. Of the more famed, Clueless, Ten Things I Hate About You and The Craft all echo with their own unique flair. Sadly, some like Dazed and Confused and Empire Records fell short of that very high bar. That being said, whether is down to glistening bleary eyed memories or of their genuine heart - they have found an audience today. The latter, however, is probably less established but probably just as good thanks to its excellent cast.
Empire Records is High Fidelity's younger, heartier,counterpart and an offspring of that slacker mentality that made Clerks so massive. It revolves around a record shop run by Joe and a collection of high school teens flitting between awkwardness and self-doubt. Night manager Lucas is given a hefty responsibility and loads of cash that he promptly takes to Atlantic City and gambles away. Facing the music becomes problematic as the next day their store celebrates Rex Manning - a pop singer favoured by older women who come in then hoards. But it's not just Lucas' problems that are causing chaos for poor Joe as tensions mount throughout. All of this is made more difficult by Joe's manager bearing down on him to sell to chain store Music Town.
Empire Records is great. You can definitely see the attraction, especially for those who long to work in record store and relive their youth. There's enough here to satisfy including some very witty humour splashed with arguments and heated debates that revel in the customer service behind the scenes madness. When it works, it's because of the excellent cast all feeding off each other with their characters personality traits and flaws. The collective talents from Renee Zellwegger, Liv Tyler, Robin Turney, Anthony LaPaglia and Rory Cochrane showcase their early on talents that would propel them to cinematic heights so such as Oscar Winner Zelwegger and the always glorious Turney. With a light hearted breeziness, Empire Records certainly does capture that nineties aurora.
Yet there is something really amiss here that makes complete enjoyment impossible and that is centred on the character depth and writing. See Empire Records is a massive check list of cliches and stereotypes that were obsessively a part of teen flicks during this era. There's the slut, the nice guy, the burn out, the cool adult, the droll dropout, the depressive, the student and many more that come on the factory line of cinematic pubescence. Sadly, the writers don't do much to smash them or twist them on their head or even make their issues engaging. Instead they use them as comedic props so much so that when Deborah’s mental illness and attempted suicide or Corey's pill addiction are brought in to the light they are left there instead of fully fleshed out in brilliance.
Charmingly, Empire Records sits on a long list of films that are a necessity if you want to laze back and remember a decade where black turtlenecks were cooler than the French resistance. Whilst it won't boast major emotions or viscerally connect with you, it'll certainly entertain which is exactly what you need with films of this calibre. Certainly the musical interludes are by far the most enjoyable elements in her culminating in an epic street party that kinda makes you wish you were part of America in that time period. Good just not great enough for iconic status.