Empire Records / YMMV

Alternate Character Interpretation: Rex Manning isn't really as big of an asshole as the main cast thinks him to be. He just knows people think he is, so plays to their expectations. He turned Corey off not because he's an ass, but because he knew she didn't really want to sleep with him, but also didn't want to hurt her feelings with a flat rejection. His "No applause" after he has sex with Gina isn't because of ego, but because the entire staff had just been standing outside the door listening in, and he's basically calling them out on it, and only punches A.J. after A.J. goes after him first. And finally, when Joe kicks him out and the others give him a "Reason You Suck" Speech, Manning simply accepts the things they say with resignation, not with a Lame Comeback in an attempt to save face.
Awesome Music: A lot. "Sugar High" at the end, along with "Money (That's What I Want)", "Video Killed the Radio Star", "Hey Joe", "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)", "Here it Comes Again", and "Say No More, Mon Amour".
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Mark watching TV and inexplicably watching himself show up in a Gwar music video and getting ripped apart by the hungry drum set, while his reaction ranges between horrified and ecstatic. It makes more sense considering he's eating Eddie's "special brownies" while watching a Gwar video, plus it's clear that, after a moment of thinking about it, Marc realizes it's because of the special brownies. Also, it's Gwar.
Critic-Proof: Critics discarded the film in droves - Variety called it a "soundtrack in search of a movie" while Allmovie called it "an over-crowded misfire that thinks it's cleverly defining a generation." All that means approximately nothing to the movie's cult following of 90s kids, a following that only increases as the years go by.
Critical Dissonance: The movie was universally loathed by critics but adored by people who grew up in the '90s, earning a 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb and an audience score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cult Classic: The film received little to no attention back in 1995. Nowadays, it has been Vindicated by Cable and is viewed fondly by both Generation Xers and Yers.
Ensemble Dark Horse: "Warren" is a great, memorable character just due to his obnoxiousness/immaturity and highly quotable lines.
Harsher in Hindsight:
- The movie is rather like a story about somebody buying a buggy-whip store in 1900. Lampshaded in the movie itself, as independently-owned record stores were dying out by the early Nineties. Ironically, most of the big chain stores mocked in this movie died out faster due to online retail and music streaming services. A small store like Empire Records in the right community could still be thriving.
- Also, even if the store did survive into the 2000s, the Great Recession of 2008 might have killed it off for good. Some quirky independent record stores, however (such as Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, MN), survive to the present day so it's not a sure thing.
- With the return of vinyl records as a niche market by the 2010s, record stores have made a comeback by the 2020s.
Just Here for Godzilla: Considering the movie's reviews were abysmal and only made about $300,000 at the box office, it likely would have completely disappeared if not for its soundtrack.
Memetic Mutation:
- DAMN THE MAN, SAVE THE EMPIRE!
- "Not today, not on Rex Manning Day!"
- "Empire Records, open till midnight ... MIDNIGHT!"
- "I don't feel the need to explain my art to you."
- "MY NAME ISN'T FUCKING WARREN!"
- "Lucas has money! Lots of money! Joe's money!"
- Say no more, mon amour.
Narm:
- Mark screaming "SHOPLIFTEEEEERRRRRR" so loudly that his voice cracks.
- Warren's voice-crackingly angry threat of "I'LL BE BACK AND YOU'LL BE SORRY!!"
- Also, his dancing during "If You Want Blood". He's supposed to be jamming to the music, but he looks more like he's having a fit.
- Virtually everything Rex Manning says or does, including his sucker punch to A.J. and his "epic" insult of "Why don't you all just fade away?"
Narm Charm: Fans still love even the silly stuff because of the likeable characters and emotional catharsis.
Pop Culture Holiday: Fans of this movie celebrate Rex Manning Day every April 8th. Expect to hear this line from Mark a few times that day:
Mark: We mustn't dwell. No, not today. We can't. Not on Rex Manning Day!
Retroactive Recognition:
- This movie is a gold mine. Bridget Jones is Gina. Arwen is Corey. Det. Lisbon is Deb. Jack Malone is Joe. Miles Colby is Rex Manning. Denise Ianello is Jane. Adam Barnes is Mark. Tim Speedle is Lucas. Jake Berkeley is A.J. .
- Now...take a look at the poster for the movie◊—did it ever occur to ANYBODY at the time that the slutty-looking blonde chick on the right would not just be the most famous out of everyone there, but be a tabloid fixture AND an Oscar winner?
Unintentional Period Piece: As noted by Tom Reimann of Cracked. He refers to the experience of watching the film today as being "like stepping inside a Gen-X time capsule with Matt Pinfield," chiefly because of its mid '90s Alternative Rock soundtrack but also due to its "Reality Bites/Singles in high school" plot.

YMMV / Empire Records

Edit Locked