Line #43 Film/EmpireRecords


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6	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empire_records_1995.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:310:From left to right: [[BrokenBird Debra,]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Mark,]] [[FeigningIntelligence Lucas,]] [[GoGetterGirl Corey,]] [[DoggedNiceGuy AJ,]] and [[GoodBadGirl Gina.]] Not pictured: [[AFatherToHisMen Joe.]]]]
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10	->'''Debra''': I guess nobody really has it all together.
11	->'''Corey''': No.
12	->'''Debra''': I feel like I should welcome you to the neighborhood or something.
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14	A 1995 SliceOfLife {{dramedy}} film, directed by Allan Moyle and featuring an EnsembleCast that includes Creator/AnthonyLaPaglia, Creator/RobinTunney, Creator/ReneeZellweger, Creator/LivTyler, and Creator/DebiMazar.
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16	It depicts a day in the life of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, a Harvard-bound overachiever, a fun-loving [[TheVamp Vamp]], two stoners, a laid-back artist, and a troubled young woman. They all work at a Delaware record store under the aegis of a BenevolentBoss and a not-so-benevolent owner. An aging singer is visiting for the day. They must save the store, make discoveries about themselves, and rock out to the very best of mid-nineties alternative music.
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19	!!Tropes used in this film:
20	* AccidentalMisnaming: Warren, whose real name is never revealed. He kind of brought it on himself by being a smart-ass and giving his name as "Creator/WarrenBeatty"... Then everyone who was present for his attempted shoplifting immediately started calling him Warren, and it caught on enough that people who weren't around at the time genuinely thought that was in fact his name. By the end of the movie, he's accepted it; the ID card the store issues him as a new employee reads "Hi, my name is Warren".
21	* ActorAllusion: A ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' sticker is seen by the till. Rory Cochrane (Lucas) played Slater in ''Dazed & Confused''.
22	* AGoodNameForARockBand: Mark wants to start a band called [[MyspeldRokband Marc]].
23	* AmbiguousSituation: Whatever happened between Berko and Deb was enough to make Berko think Deb's suicide attempt was because of him but the details are never elaborated on.
24	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: AJ tries to do this with Corey on the roof of the store, just when he thinks it's the right time for it. Corey, however, had just gone through an embarrassing moment with Rex Manning and isn't in the mood for it. [[spoiler:She calms down later and they hook up after all.]]
25	* AsideGlance: At the beginning, just after Lucas loses the store's money at the craps table, he looks at the camera and asks aloud, "I wonder if I'll be held responsible for this?" He does it several more times throughout the film.
26	* AttendingYourOwnFuneral: The employees host a fake funeral for Debra to show how much they love her. It only sort of makes more sense in context.
27	* BeleagueredAssistant: Jane is this for Rex Manning. She starts her day just trying to keep Rex's ego afloat, and ends the day [[spoiler:having quit out of embarrassment for supporting such a {{Jerkass}} has-been and asks Joe for a job.]]
28	* BenevolentBoss: Joe may be temperamental, but he ''always'' takes care of his own. The staff respect him for it even though it becomes clear during the movie that Joe is stressed out with how the store is struggling and may cave to the demands that he sell out to the record chain. He could have Lucas arrested at any time, but as a father figure to Lucas, he can never bring himself to do it. [[spoiler:Even when Joe finally snaps at Lucas and beats his ass, he's still being nice about it.]] It's notable that, when Warren comes back to the store waving a gun, Joe is the first one to put himself in danger, since Warren's ire is largely with him. In the end, he really proves his loyalty to his staff by [[spoiler:personally buying the store off of their petulant BadBoss.]]
29	%%* BigShutUp: Gina and Corey take turns screaming this at each other during their argument.
30	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Lucas addresses the camera a few times throughout the movie.
31	* {{Bowdlerise}}: The version of Coyote Shivers' "Sugarhigh" performed in the film includes a couple of significantly toned-down lyrics: "they all said she's just another groupie slut" becomes "they all say life's just a bowl of cherries, but..." and "when I lick between your thighs" becomes "I wanna kiss myself goodbye". The version included on the soundtrack album uses the uncensored lyrics.
32	* CensorShadow: An odd distortion effect is used to obscure the phallic part of Music/{{Gwar}} lead singer Dave Brockie's costume during the scene where Mark watches the band on TV.
33	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Mark and Lucas. (Although it's implied that Lucas's is a recent case.)
34	* CooldownHug: Happens twice, one right after the other. First while Gina the resident GoodBadGirl is freaking out. The second with Corey after her stress/revelation induced freakout. One of them is successful.
35	* CrypticBackgroundReference: When asked for relationship advice by AJ, Joe casually makes a remark about a wife that left him for another woman, and how his girlfriend "forced [him] to leave at gunpoint." No more information is given about either of these events.
36	* DayInTheLife: The movie plays out as a SliceOfLife episode, a "Working At Empire Records" kind of day as we watch the employees cope being there. Subverted in that half the cast are going through personal dilemmas, the store itself is facing doom being overtaken by a corporate entity, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking it's Rex Manning Day]].
37	* DeadpanSnarker:
38	** Debra and Lucas.
39	** Even Joe has his moments:
40	-->(''Joe is talking to the police after Warren has been collared for shoplifting'')
41	-->'''Joe:''' (''to Warren'') How old are you?
42	-->'''Warren:''' Old enough to kick your butt through your skull and splatter your brains on the wall.
43	-->'''Joe:''' (''to the police'') Yeah, he's a juvenile.
44	* DontYouDarePityMe: A worried Joe tries to have a talk with Debra over whatever she's dealing with, but she's not in any place to accept that, and she brushes off his attempt.
45	-->'''Debra:''' Gonna fix me, Joe? [[SarcasmMode Okay, fix me, I'll listen.]]
46	* DrivenToSuicide: Debra tried to slit her wrists, rather half-heartedly, prior to the beginning of the film.
47	* EducationMama: Corey's father is never seen, but described to be like this. [[spoiler:It's one of the reasons why Corey is stressed out on pills trying to over-achieve.]]
48	* ExactWords: Joe sits Lucas down on a break-room couch and orders him not to leave said couch. So once Joe leaves the room, Lucas gets up and wanders the store freely... while carrying a couch cushion under his arm.
49	* GallowsHumor: Debra, the morning after surviving her suicide attempt, has an embittered sense of humor about it. It's partly born out of her habit of pushing people away.
50	* GenderBlenderName: Yes, Corey can be a girl's name too.
51	* GirlfriendInCanada:
52	-->'''Lucas''': upon noticing his one stolen CD Whitney Houston?
53	-->'''Warren''': It's for my girlfriend.
54	-->'''Lucas''': Yeah, right.
55	* GloryDays: Rex Manning's are very much behind him. Any positive attention he gets is from the parents of the current generation of teenagers, the latter of whom have little more than contempt for him.
56	* GoGetterGirl: Corey deconstructs this. She does well in school, but that's partly because [[spoiler:she's addicted to speed.]] Her go-getter attitude also drives her to try seducing Rex Manning for her first sexual encounter, which goes poorly.
57	* GoodBadGirl: As mentioned above, Gina. She's not sorry about being promiscuous, though it ''will'' hurt her feelings if you taunt her for it.
58	* HadakaApron: Gina, natch, when she displays a problem with Music Town's dress code...
59	* HesGotAWeapon: Warren Beatty's revenge on the store in the back half of the film involves a handgun. Of all people, it's ''Debra'' that makes him crack and go into a MotiveRant instead.
60	* IceCreamKoan: Lucas's wisdom. He presents himself to be wiser than he really is, and no one is fooled by his pretentious posturing since, after all, he's the one who lost the $9000 and jeopardized the store.
61	* ImportantHaircut: A day removed from a bad mental health episode and suicide attempt, Debra buzzes all her hair off in the bathroom prior to her shift.
62	* IronicEcho:
63	** "Take care of yourself, Warren. Don't let the Man get you down."
64	** "Not ''entirely'' perfect."
65	* IWillShowYouX: Corey screams "I'll show you fine!" at Joe during her breakdown before rampaging through the store.
66	* LeParkour: Lucas, masterfully chasing shoplifter Warren back and forth through the store.
67	* MushroomSamba: Mark eating pot brownies and watching a Music/{{Gwar}} video brings on one of these.
68	-->'''Oderus Urungus:''' You play a mean guitar, Mark! It's really a shame that you must...DIE!
69	* NervesOfSteel: An angry Warren Beatty returns to the store with a handgun, at the end of his rope. Who talks him down from his misguided, petulant rage? Debra does, getting Warren to open up about ''why'' he's so angry, and staring down the barrel of his gun without even flinching.
70	* TheNineties: The movie just ''screams'' it, which is unavoidable considering when it came out.
71	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Already mad at Lucas for gambling away the store's money, Joe eventually snaps when Lucas overdoes his hipster wisdom act, and drags the teen into his office for an off-screen beating. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Joe doesn't leave any severe damage aside from a cut on Lucas' forehead, and they both act afterward as though they both knew it needed to be done.]] Joe [[spoiler:even hands Lucas a towel to take care of that cut.]]
72	* OneHourWorkWeek: They seem to have incredibly long all day shifts, but at the same time, most of it is spent hanging out, dancing, listening to music, or performing grunge rock concerts on the roof.
73	** Semi-justified in that it's an event day, so it makes sense that every employee would be scheduled for at least part of the day (and some of them ''want'' to be there even if they don't have to be, and their manager is [[BenevolentBoss extremely lenient]]), and in that it's made clear that this is an atypical sort of work day in-universe.
74	* OnlySaneEmployee: Joe SCREAMS Liz Lemon Job, particularly when he breaks up the fight between Corey and Gina.
75	* ParentalAbandonment: Debra has no problem with Joe calling her mom about her failed suicide attempt, just as long as Joe can actually ''find'' Debra's mom.
76	* ThePowerOfRock: The attempt to save the store from being converted into a Music Town [[spoiler:works thanks to invoking this trope in the form of a RooftopConcert. They get all the money they need for Joe to buy the store for himself.]]
77	* PrecisionFStrike: "Warren Beatty" finally gets fed up with the AccidentalMisnaming when he returns to the store with a gun and fulfills the "one f-bomb in a PG-13 movie" quota.
78	-->'''Warren:''' STOP CALLING ME WARREN; MY NAME ISN'T ''FUCKING'' WARREN!
79	* PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: The 90's grunge version of the wangsta himself, Warren.
80	* RightThroughHisPants: When Rex and [[spoiler: Gina]] have sex, both of them inexplicably wear their underwear during the act.
81	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The staff give Rex one when Joe kicks him out after having sex with Gina. Rex doesn't even bother with a LameComeback in an attempt to save face; he simply accepts that everything they said is probably true with resignation.
82	* ReCut: A new version of the film was released on DVD in 2003 called the "Remix: Special Fan Edition" which was re-edited and extended.
83	* RooftopConcert: The end of the movie features Coyote Shivers throwing a concert on the roof of the record store, giving Gina the chance to fulfill her dream of performing with a band.
84	* RuleOfCool: Sure, in reality it's against the law to perform concerts on top of roofs in a public area and the fine for it would likely exceed the money they earned, but ''that doesn't matter because it was cool.'' This is averted in an alternate ending on the DVD where everyone performing is arrested at the end. [[spoiler: Including Rex Manning.]]
85	* RunningGag: Just about everyone feels the need to comment on Rex's hair at least once.
86	* SavingTheWorldWithArt: The film ends with the teens planning a music concert to "damn the man, save The Empire", which will also raise enough funds to save the store.
87	* StalkerWithACrush: Corey for Rex Manning. It doesn't end well for Corey when she finds out how much of a {{Jerkass}} Rex is.
88	* TheStoner: Eddie and Mark both fit.
89	* StylisticSuck: Rex Manning's music video. Granted, it's very much in the style of [[TheEighties early MTV]].
90	* SuddenlyShouting: "I'M BRINGING REX HIS LUNCH!!"
91	* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: [[spoiler:Jane decides ScrewThisImOuttaHere after being made fun of one too many times for her association with Rex Manning.]]
92	* ThoseTwoGuys: Eddie and Mark again.
93	* ToyotaTripwire: Lucas pulls this on Warren as the latter is trying to escape during his shoplifting attempt. Interestingly, the car in question is on a raised platform at a car dealership across the street.
94	* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: A.J. apparently believes this, or at least, is willing to troll Warren with it
95	-->'''Warren''': Who glued all these quarters to the floor?
96	-->'''A.J.''': I did.
97	-->'''Warren''': Why?
98	-->'''A.J.''': Warren, I don't feel the need to explain my art to you.
99	* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Mark does one while Warren is holding up the store.
100	* VitriolicBestBuds: Gina jokes to Corey that Debra hates them both, and that Gina has "the good sense to hate her back." As they serve customers through the day, it quickly becomes apparent that Gina and Debra are not so different, and they're a little more amicable than they let on, starting when they spitefully tear up the list of Music Town regulations together.
101	* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Rex Manning, a male singer variation. His time as a big rock star has long faded, and the people he signs autographs for all day ''never'' let him forget it.
102	* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: When Joe finally confronts Lucas for losing the store's money on a foolish gambit.
103	** Dialogue implies Joe is Lucas' foster father, who took him in after Lucas' own mother abandoned him due to impulse control problems.

Context Film / EmpireRecords