Damn The Man
 Jan 23rd, 2002
Advantages:
Everything really but particularly the soundtrack and script .
Disadvantages:
Why can't I work somewhere this cool
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
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Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  dchurch
About me:
I've been off Ciao for a few days trying to learn how to use geocities. That's quite brave for a tec...
Member since:30.10.2001
Reviews:37
Members who trust:10
Review rated by 36 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Read Comment
Okay, so you are all beginning to suspect that I'm either the oldest teenager in town or sadly harking back to my teen years. Well, I have to admit that maybe I shouldn't find all these teen-flicks so damned entertaining but I do, so what the hell here comes another review of another teen-flick. This time under my microscope goes 1997's much-missed gem Empire Records. Directed by Allan Moyle, who also directed Pump Up The Volume, this is the story of a record store, unsurprisingly called Empire Records, and it's wide array of weird and wonderful employees.
The plot revolves around 24 hours at the store, "Rex Manning Day", don't worry all will become clear. The business, run by Joe ( Anthony Laplagia ) is in trouble and about to be sold and changed into a Music Town store, a commercial chain of record stores and in attitude, everything that Empire is not. Joe has quietly amassed enough money to nearly buy the place
but has not told any of the employees this. So when Lucas ( Rory Cochrane ) is left in charge to close up he decides to take matters into his own hands and goes to Atlantic City with the days takings to gamble his way to saving Empire Records, obvously he fails. And in a nut shell that is the plot, ailing record store, can it be saved? The rest of the film centres around the next day which could now well be one of the last days of the Empire. Doesn't sound much does it but this film is Cool with a capital C.
The rest of the cast is just about the coolest collection of characters ever assembled for one film. Firstly there is A.J ( Johnny Whitworth ) an aspiring art student who is infatuated with co-worker Corey (Liv Tyler ), and to be honest who can blame him. Corey, herself is a shy girl who is going to Harvard just to please her father. She also plans on losing her virginity to aging greasy crooner Rex Manning ( Maxwell Caulfield ) when he goes to the store for a record signing day.....see I told you Rex Manning day would soon make sense! Also there is the suicidal Debra ( Robin Tunney ),a real rebel without a cause and her rock 'n' roll boyfriend Berko, played by real life rock star Coyote Shivers. Their relationship isn't really explored but there is a touching moment when the group arrange a funeral for Debra to show her how much she would be missed if she ever succeeded in killing herself. The other female worker is "turbo-slut" Gina played by the wonderful Renee Zellweger.
Finally there are my two favourite employees at Empire Records, Mark and Eddie, played by newcomers Ethan Randall and Brendan Sexton. These two are your typical spaced out rocker teens and they have most of my favourite scenes in the movie. Perhaps my favourite part in the movie is when Mark has a daydream involving him playing guitar for freaky Metal band Gwar. This of course happens as he is eating some of Eddie's "special-recipe" cakes. There are a lot of excellent set pieces in the movie and plenty to entertain you and the performances, while not oscar-winning are certainly a cut above the usual standard found in these sort of films. And as for the ending, well if there's a better feel-good finish in any movie from this genre I have yet to see it. It really does leave the viewer with a warm-glow, not in a soppy sappy way but just genuinely happy.
Arguably the greatest selling point of this film is the incredible soundtrack, my favourite of all-time. It features one major hit, A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins, which is probably the weakest track. The rest of the soundtrack consists of some great rock and indie songs by the likes of The Gin Blossoms, The Cranberries and Evan Dando. There are also some excellent tracks by some lesser known bands like Please and Drill. As Eddie observes "music is the glue which holds the world together", and this album certainly helps to hold this film together. In conclusion, this is not the greatest film ever made but it is the coolest.....by a long way. If you want a piece of sheer entertainment at it's best then you could do a lot worse than taking a visit to the Empire, for those of you that have seen it, well all I can say is "Damn The Man" and take another trip to the hippest shop around.
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![Empire Records [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/79023051.jpg)
15.06.2002 01:52
Great op and great film! Mark is my fave character too... oh and Lucas is great!
06.04.2002 08:22
Smart Op. See ya Monday! PS Enjoy the wedding.
23.01.2002 17:50
Great review - I loved this film, too!