Movie Crush Monday: CT & Empire Records
So I'm sitting with my roommate this morning, drinking coffee and reading while she catches up on The 100. I've never seen the show before, but I'm checking from time to time to appreciate their fantastic taste in post-apocalyptic hairstyles and fashion. This is definitely a show I'm going to have to give a chance. And that's when he walks on screen. Johnny Whitworth.
"IS THAT AJ FROM EMPIRE RECORDS??!?!" I calmly ask (sorta... that bit's debatable).
Lex waits for me to begin breathing again, then responds "What's Empire Records?"
Which brings me to my Movie Crush Monday this week.
Empire Records is, in my opinion, one of the best of the 90's teen comedies. It follows a group of employees at a music store as they try to save their store from being bought out by a huge corporation. But like any teen comedy worth its salt, the plot plays second fiddle to the little dramas filling the lives of the characters. When it's been a while since I've seen Empire Records, it always takes me a few steps to even remember the main plot.
What I remember instead is worrying about whether AJ will tell Corey how he feels about her, whether Corey will actually lose her virginity to the slimy Rex Manning, whether Mark will ever start his band or find love or get high (whichever he really wants in that moment).
The balance between the crazy goofy moments and the hugely dramatic moments gives Empire Records charm and heart beyond the average teen comedy. It's a credit to both the writing and the acting that you walk away genuinely caring about the relationships between the characters. The script is infinitely quotable, but in such a way that it builds each character.
I fell in love with Empire Records in high school, when I was full of just as much angst and hope and hormones as the characters. But I've rewatched it approximately a bazillion times as an adult and it holds up. I laugh just as hard, every time. I am moved just as much by their fears about the future, every time.
So if you'll excuse me, I need to go rewatch Empire Records for the 15,000th time, to share the joys of Rex Manning Day.
Peace,
CT
"IS THAT AJ FROM EMPIRE RECORDS??!?!" I calmly ask (sorta... that bit's debatable).
Lex waits for me to begin breathing again, then responds "What's Empire Records?"
Which brings me to my Movie Crush Monday this week.
Empire Records is, in my opinion, one of the best of the 90's teen comedies. It follows a group of employees at a music store as they try to save their store from being bought out by a huge corporation. But like any teen comedy worth its salt, the plot plays second fiddle to the little dramas filling the lives of the characters. When it's been a while since I've seen Empire Records, it always takes me a few steps to even remember the main plot.
What I remember instead is worrying about whether AJ will tell Corey how he feels about her, whether Corey will actually lose her virginity to the slimy Rex Manning, whether Mark will ever start his band or find love or get high (whichever he really wants in that moment).
The balance between the crazy goofy moments and the hugely dramatic moments gives Empire Records charm and heart beyond the average teen comedy. It's a credit to both the writing and the acting that you walk away genuinely caring about the relationships between the characters. The script is infinitely quotable, but in such a way that it builds each character.
I fell in love with Empire Records in high school, when I was full of just as much angst and hope and hormones as the characters. But I've rewatched it approximately a bazillion times as an adult and it holds up. I laugh just as hard, every time. I am moved just as much by their fears about the future, every time.
So if you'll excuse me, I need to go rewatch Empire Records for the 15,000th time, to share the joys of Rex Manning Day.
Peace,
CT
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