WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Deep in the heart of Delaware, the day begins at Empire Records, a local music shop filled with young employees who are about to have one for the ages. After one of them, Lucas (Rory Cochrane), took the previous night’s deposits to Atlantic City and lost it in a game of craps, the shop’s manager Joe (Anthony LaPaglia) is now short funds to buy the place out and stop it from being turned into a franchise operation. Boo. Meanwhile, A.J. (Johnny Whitworth) has a mad crush on Corey (Liv Tyler) and can’t get the nerve up to tell her; Gina (Renée Zellweger) is growing ever more uninhibited; and Deb (Robin Tunney) has just shaved her head after failing to commit suicide. Oh, and it’s Rex Manning Day! Can the crew make it through the day?
QUICKIE REVIEW: Is it possible for a film to be too hip for its own good? Maybe not, but director Allan Moyle‘s Empire Records sure tries hard with a young cast that does everything it can to be whacky and extreme, leaving behind any sense of credibility. Blatantly pushing its soundtrack from frame one, this is a poor excuse for a story rather than a collage of young people acting crazy, trying to be defining for their generation. Most are tolerable but a few are completely off the rails, including Ethan Embry as Mark and Brendan Sexton III as Warren. Thing is, while it’s not really a good movie per se, it’s strangely compelling, the weird narrative and disjointed multiple plot threads oddly magnetic. It’s a cult classic now, probably deservedly so, and those pining for 90s nostalgia will get their fill. Maybe worth a late night spin.
THAT MOMENT IN: It’s a little hard to put into context what tips Gina off the deep end without putting into perspective the chaos brewing around her. Empire Records revels in snippet storytelling, shifting from person to person at warp speed, barely giving any single corner of the movie any real consistency. We move from conflict to conflict like we’re thumbing through a shuffled deck of playing cards, trying to put them all in order one at a time as fast as we can. What’s important to know is that up to this point, nothing about Gina is really made crucial to the story, only that people around her are all twisted up in themselves.
Her best friend is Corey, kind of her polar opposite, contrasting Gina’s blonde in black with her own brunette in pastel, both playfully sexy but Gina openly active and happy with her getting-around reputation. Corey has a clean cut sheen about her, the girl next door with a good heart and better intentions, but of course, she has a secret, one that only Gina knows. Either way, so far on this day at Empire Records, a lot has been flying around the store, Gina at the register soaking it all in. This includes the fact that Corey has had a long time crush on Rex Manning (Maxwell Caulfield), an 80s pop star trying to hold on to relevance who is at this moment in the shop promoting his new subpar album.
Gina pushes Corey to try something extreme in getting Rex’s attention, something completely out of character for her but worth a try in maybe feeling like a grown woman. Naturally, this backfires in an uncomfortable and embarrassing way, leaving her feeling not just letdown but a little broken. It puts the two friends at odds, each sharing some sharp words for each other during lunch, Gina especially hurt before storming off … right into the open arms of the decidedly randy Rex. Having sex right in the backroom where everyone can hear them, when they finally emerge, Corey is right there, and it’s time for a breakdown.
Corey instantly chastises Gina, but Gina’s not having it, suddenly erupting into a whole different animal, exposing the store employees to the hypocrisy of their judging eyes, bolting right to Corey’s locker and pulling out a bottle of amphetamines, uppers that Corey habitually uses to stay on top of her studies. It shatters everyone’s image of the straight-laced Corey while sending Corey into a fit of store busting rage. Fun times at Empire Records.
Not even a year after Empire Records, Zellweger would light up theaters with her true breakout role as Dorothy Boyd in the Tom Cruise drama Jerry Maguire, earning high praise and a soon to be hugely successful, award-winning career. While her emotional performance in the movie won just about everyone over, it’s easy to trace its roots to right here, Zellweger proving, as Gina, she is a few steps ahead of most of the cast in creating and delivering a convincing offbeat character with some genuine vulnerability. While she was stuck for most of the movie in the generic floozy girl part, she bursts from those constraints with relative ease, giving the awkward comedy a much need punch in the proverbial gut. It works, and temporarily puts a whole new spin on the record store shenanigans.
Empire Records is no classic yet it’s aged in a peculiar way, mostly because so many of the people getting their start in the film went on to much greater success. Having not seen it in nearly twenty years, it’s surprisingly fun even if a little frustrating – and irritating – though the women especially are the best thing going for it. No doubt many count this as one of their favorite 90s movies and it’s easy to see why when you reflect on the times and the music. If you do watch again, pay attention to Gina and see how Zellweger spins what she can from this seemingly obvious character. It’s good stuff and her breakdown after a shot of guilt is a great movie moment.