Movie #50- "Empire Records" (1995)

Independent music stores.  I know I've talked about record shopping in the past, but it is something I truly miss.  Spending hours in a record store, sifting through bins of vinyl, looking for those albums that may have eluded you over the years.  Or maybe spending a couple bucks and taking a chance an album that looked promising (there are several groups I discovered with this premise).  Alas, a natural disaster diminished my collection, leaving me a couple bins of records minus sleeves and covers (on the plus side, I walked away).  Also, record stores are harder to find.
At it's core, "Empire Records" really wants to be a John Hughes film.  Several kids representing a variety of backgrounds and different tastes in music, all working under one roof.  Together, they are able to bond as one, working for a cause in sticking it to the man.  In this case, "the man" is the owner of the record store, who wants to sell out to a chain.  Each character discovers something about themselves and are given the chance to grow, due to the patience of their store manager, the only adult they seem to respect.
If I was younger, I may have enjoyed this movie more.  To me, the strong part of the film is the soundtrack, which features a good cross of genres including the highlight "A Girl Like You" from Edwyn Collins.  Some of the stereotypes are over-the-top, and Liv Tyler does more of her whisper acting.  "Empire Records" might have been a cool place to work, don't know if I'd want to shop there.


Rating: 4/10
Movies I've previously seen: 4
First time viewings: 46