MY MOVIE SHELF: Empire Records

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 280  Days to go: 272

Movie #97: Empire Records

“Well Sinead O’Rebellion! Shock me, shock me, shock me with your deviant behavior!”

The first time I saw Empire Records, and Joe (Anthony LaPaglia) opened the store with Mark (Ethan Embry) right behind him, answering the phone, “Empire Records, open ’til midnight,” I told my friend that very moment that the number of people who call and ask when the store closes was probably astronomical. When Mark is later overwhelmed at the register, the rest of the staff busy participating in Deb’s (Robin Tunney) fake funeral, he answers the phone with that same required spiel only to respond with bewilderment and frustration to the unheard caller, “Midnight!” Never set up a dumb customer joke in the first act without paying it off in the third.

Empire Records is not the kind of movie that holds up to much scrutiny or analysis, so it’s best to just enjoy the spectacular ride of Rex Manning Day and all it has to offer. Oh, did I not mention? It’s Rex Manning Day! “Say no more, Mon Amour. Lips are for kissing, baby, je t’adore.”

Rex Manning (Maxwell Caufield) is a washed-up former heartthrob on a comeback tour of record store signings, and his manager Jane (Debi Mazar) has booked him at the illustrious Empire Records (established 1959). Corey (Liv Tyler) has had a crush on Manning since infancy and now she plans to lose her virginity to him (always a sound plan — “Oh, Rexy! You’re so sexy!”). But it’s a day of upheaval in the Empire universe, as the Man wants to turn them into a MusicTown chain. (“Welcome to MusicTown. May I service you?”) Meanwhile, Lucas (Rory Cochrane) stole $9000, A.J. (Johnny Whitworth) is in love with Corey and plans to tell her at 1:37PM, , Deb and Berko (Coyote Shivers) had a fight that ended in Deb feeling shitty and invisible again so she cut herself with a Lady Bic and shaved off all her hair. Gina (Renee Zellweger) steals Corey’s Rex Manning thunder in the count-out room and wants to be a singer in a band. Mark listens to horrible music, eats Eddie’s (James Wills) special recipe brownies and wants to start a band called Marc. And angry “Little Bastard” Warren (not his real name), played by Brendan Sexton III, shoplifts CDs and waves a gun around in order to get a cool job at a record store. It’s a lot to take in. “What’s with today, today?”

The interactions between the cast, however, are phenomenal and funny, and the dialogue is great. It’s infinitely quotable, with a soundtrack that, unsurprisingly, seamlessly meshes with the action and events of the day. And it also, in a kind of absolutely brilliant way, is the most accepting and affirming look at adolescence. Yes, there’s a bit of rivalry and spitefulness among Deb, Gina and Corey, but it works itself out over their mutual realizations that they’re all messed up in their own ways, and that they have common fears and common goals and common enemies. Yes, Lucas gambled away $9000 of the store’s money, but he’s Joe’s family — if not by blood, then by bond — and Joe can’t just discard him. Yes, Warren is acting out in hostile and aggressive ways, but they accept him as a person. And when Joe tries to talk to Deb about her problems, it’s not a twee moment. She asks him, “You gonna fix me Joe?” He takes a moment and tells her she’s doing a great job, which is exactly the kind of thing she needs to hear — nothing patronizing or smarmy, but appreciative and respectful. He lets her know her worth, as an employee, sure, but also, in that one statement, as a person. “I guess nobody really has it all together, huh?”

The day ends with an impromptu concert and fundraising drive that maybe solves all the outstanding issues a little too easily, but that doesn’t make it any less satisfying. “Damn the Man. Save the Empire.”

Empire Records may not be perfect (“Well, not entirely perfect.”), but it’s one of those movies that brings people together. It connects us through witty lines and common feelings and experiences. It’s about people who aren’t related but are family anyway, and how they come together to support one another even when there’s friction between them. For people feeling out-of-place and set adrift — as many adolescents do, kind of in general, as a defining aspect of adolescence — Empire Records offers a community of sorts — one of individuality and acceptance. “I don’t feel that I need to explain my art to you, Warren.”

And honestly (“Always play with their minds.”), it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

“Just another tasty treat from the gang at Empire Records.”

MY MOVIE SHELF: The Client

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order, by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 308  Days to go: 297

Movie #65: The Client

John Grisham books — and by extension John Grisham movies — are comfortable entertainment. They are sufficiently thrilling and compelling and enjoyable without necessarily being challenging. This is not a dig at all. That kind of entertainment is neither easy nor unimportant to create, and Grisham is great at it — give credit where it’s due. I like of lot of the movies made from his books, to be honest. The Rainmaker and Runaway Jury are ones I will watch on TV almost any time I catch them, I saw The Firm being filmed in Washington D.C. back when I was a senior in high school and thought Tom Cruise was the be-all-and-end-all of male attractiveness, Darby Shaw (from The Pelican Brief) works as one hell of fake name if you ever need one (I am also the one person in the world not to resent Julia Roberts for saying “I love my life” when she announced the Oscar for Denzel, because I recalled that movie and how thrilled she would be to hand over a statuette to her old friend), and A Time To Kill introduced me to Matthew McConaughey as a whole new level of hot. Not all of these movies will find their way into these posts, but a few of them will. The Client is the first.

There are a lot of things about The Client that are weird — casting and plot-wise — but Susan Sarandon as Reggie Love is not one of them. Reggie is strong and whip-smart and nurturing. She’s in control and she’s a mess. She handles the insanely belligerent and rebellious Mark Sway (the late Brad Renfro, who was a breakout child actor at the time, thanks to this film), with patience and respect while nearly everyone else tries to strong-arm him and push him around. She’s a complete, well-rounded woman, and if you don’t think that was a hard role to come by  in 1994, then you weren’t paying attention. Hell, it’s a hard role to come by now.

Tommy Lee Jones is in the movie too, as Roy Foltrigg, and brings his usual high level of talent and commitment to his role. As a U.S. Attorney with greater political ambitions, he is domineering, slick, vain and clearly used to getting his own way. Leading his own band of similar male attorneys, he presents an intimidating force for Reggie and Mark to be up against, making Sarandon’s calm seem even more impressive. For her to essentially beat Roy at his own game is the film’s greatest triumph. (Granted, the film doesn’t have many, unless you count the implication that mobster Barry the Blade (Anthony LaPaglia) is sent to sleep with the fishes as a triumph.)

Beyond that, The Client is messier and more awkward than most of the Grisham films. The poor people are not presented as noble, polished, humble folk — Mark is angry and hostile and his mother (Mary-Louise Parker with a horrendously gnarled accent) is both ignorant and defensive a lot of the time, despite trying her best to provide for her boys. The prosecuting attorneys and FBI agents are not corrupt or malicious, but they are also not benevolent forces. Reggie has dark skeletons in her closet. Even the mobsters — clear villains — are almost sympathetic when they decide to get rid of Barry; he’s the bad seed, the one screwing everything up. It’s chaotic in a way that doesn’t fit well with other, more straightforward Grisham films, but that chaos is what draws me in. I find it more interesting than the others because it’s messy, and because the lines aren’t as clearly drawn. And also because if I ever need a lawyer, I hope I can get Reggie Love.