Empire Records (1995)
Empire Records (1995) Author's Note: Most of this was originally written on October 3, 2014. Changes include some additional "Screening the Film" commentary, selection of new "Best Dialogue." Watching the Movie: Excellently cast and perfectly acted teen dramady that actually essentially captures the essence of what it very much was like to be in your late teens/early twenties in the mid 1990's. Obviously, it's a movie about a record store, so the soundtrack is going to be top shelf (though I sadly misplaced my copy years ago). The characters are unique and well developed but probably a little too shallow and obvious to really be taken seriously; but the storyline all brings them together in a way that is really far too entertaining for any plot shortcomings to be taken seriously...with one notable exception. The second act of this film; pretty much everything from Corey's attempted seduction of Rex Manning to the Gina Freak Out/Corey Freak Out ...