Empire Records

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Empire Records

Promotional film poster
Directed by Allan Moyle
Produced by Tony Ludwig
Arnon Milchan
Michael Nathanson
Alan Riche
Written by Carol Heikkinen
Starring Anthony LaPaglia
Maxwell Caulfield
Debi Mazar
Johnny Whitworth
Liv Tyler
Renée Zellweger
Rory Cochrane
Robin Tunney
Ethan Embry
Studio Regency Enterprises
New Regency
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) September 22, 1995 (limited)
Running time 90 min. (original)
107 min (2003 edition)
Language English
Budget N/A

Empire Records is a 1995 comedy-drama about a group of record store employees. The film was directed by Allan Moyle and stars Anthony LaPaglia, Rory Cochrane, Renée Zellweger, and Liv Tyler.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

 The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (May 2009)

Empire Records is a small record shop managed by the cynical Joe (Anthony LaPaglia). His employees are all local teenagers, many of whom are outsiders in some way or another (at one point in the movie they are referred to as gum chewing, tattooed, silver pierced freaks). During the open sequence Joe selects Lucas (Rory Cochrane) to close down the store unsupervised. While in the store alone, Lucas discovers that Empire Records is on the brink of being converted to a franchise of a chain called Music Town. In an attempt to save the store, Lucas takes the day's cash receipts to Atlantic City, where he loses it all.

The following morning, the young employees arrive for work. A washed-up pop star named Rex Manning (Maxwell Caulfield) is due to arrive to sign autographs, but no one is looking forward to it except Corey (Liv Tyler), a beautiful cashier who is obsessed with Rex and plans to lose her virginity to him. When good-natured stoner Mark (Ethan Embry) and an artist AJ (Johnny Whitworth) show up at the store, they discover what Lucas has done, and decide not to tell Joe.

When Joe arrives, already in a bad mood because of "Rex Manning Day," he finds the money gone. He becomes irate because, in order to protect Lucas, he will have to use his own savings to replace the stolen money. He had hoped to buy out Empire's owner, Mitchell Beck (Ben Bode), but lacks any realistic hope of doing so now that the money is gone.

Corey and her friend Gina (Renée Zellweger) arrive at work. While Joe tries to find (and "kill") Lucas, AJ decides that today is the day he will confess his love for Corey. Lucas arrives, and Joe forbids him to leave the store (or even the couch) until he is able to repay the $9,000.

As the store is opened, another employee, Deb (Robin Tunney), arrives. She is rude to her fellow workers and locks herself in the bathroom, where she shaves her head. As she exits the bathroom, AJ sees that she has a bandage on her wrist and she dryly admits that she attempted suicide. AJ is worried, but allows Deb to go to work.

Lucas leaves the couch to catch a young shoplifter. Rex Manning arrives with his assistant Jane (Debi Mazar). Rex is disappointed that the store is not bigger, and that the crowd is comprised mostly of older women. Corey, however, is still determined to sleep with him, and attempts to seduce him during his lunch break. Rex chases her away by dropping his zipper and saying "Rock and Roll". She flees, crying in embarrassment.

An ashamed Corey ends up on the roof of the store, where a lovesick AJ attempts to tell her how he feels. Corey is overwhelmed and tells him that she only sees him as a friend, and AJ leaves angrily.

As the day progresses, tensions are wearing high, and Joe is desperately trying to find enough money to pay Mitchell Beck by the end of the day. He eventually gives Mitchell an empty money bag, which buys him some more time. Gina, after an argument with Corey, successfully seduces Rex Manning, much to the horror of her friends. When Corey insults her and calls her a slut, Gina reveals that Corey is not as perfect as she seems, as she is constantly taking speed. Corey throws a fit, and it is Deb, surprisingly, who is able to calm her down. The two former enemies become friends.

Rex Manning finally leaves and Corey, after hearing about Deb's suicide attempt, arranges a "funeral" for her where all her friends gather around and say things that they love about her. At the end of the day, the young shoplifter whom Lucas had caught earlier returns with a gun and fires blanks in the store. He stops after Joe offers him a job. Running out of time, the employees of Empire Records try to think of a way to raise enough money to save the store. Mark comes up with the idea of holding a benefit party/concert, and all the staff members pitch in. Deb's boyfriend Berko (Coyote Shivers) plays with his band on the roof while Gina sings. Enough money is made to save the store. Afterwards, on the roof, Corey tells AJ that she really does love him. Jane, who has quit her job as Rex Manning's assistant, has become Joe's new girlfriend. The cast dances on the roof as the credits begin to roll.

[edit] Reaction and cult status

This teen comedy-drama did poorly at the box office and received generally negative reviews. As of February 2009, it has only a 24% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com.[1] Roger Ebert called the film a "lost cause," but felt some of the actors might have a future in other, better films.[2].

The film has attracted and has maintained a devoted cult following since its release[citation needed], mainly among young adults who first saw the film as adolescents[citation needed]. Numerous web shrines have been created in the film's honor,[citation needed] and a special edit was released on DVD in 2003, after many years of petitioning from fans wanting the deleted scenes to be made available.[citation needed]

[edit] Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2008)
  • A reference is made to rock band The Who when Rex tells the kids to fade away. (In the 2003 edition this line is not used. It is replaced with alternate take featuring a more reflective Rex Manning stating "You know what, maybe you're right.")
  • Many of the stars would later go on to appear in Jerry Bruckheimer's CBS crime dramas. Rory Cochrane would star as Tim Speedle in CSI: Miami, Anthony LaPaglia would star as Jack Malone in Without a Trace and Johnny Whitworth would land a guest appearance on Cold Case and Without a Trace and then a recurring role on CSI: Miami, though he made his appearances years after Cochrane had already left the show. Debi Mazar would also guest star on CSI: Miami.
  • Brendan Sexton III's character sarcastically says his name is Warren Beatty (the other characters (sarcastically) believe him).
  • Tobey Maguire, who later became famous for his role in Spider-Man and its sequels, had a small part in the movie. Maguire requested director Allan Moyle release him from his part in the movie due to health reasons. Moyle agreed, and all of Tobey's scenes were deleted from the final film.[3] His name is still in the final credits at the end of the movie.
  • A sign by the register that says "Have a nice daze" shows the logo for Dazed and Confused (1993). Rory Cochrane, who plays Lucas, played Slater.
  • Robin Tunney's character has a horizontal suicide-attempt scar on her wrist. In The Craft, her character bears vertical suicide-attempt scars.
  • The movie was originally filmed as two days but was cut and fit to one. This is most obvious in the apparent breakneck speed at which Jane (Rex Manning's assistant) decides to quit her job and stay in town as Joe's new girlfriend. Some of the material that didn't make it to the one-day cut is included in the "Empire Records Remix, the Fan Edition" DVD.
  • At the time this movie was made, Coyote Shivers was married to Bebe Buell, which made him the stepfather of co-star Liv Tyler. (They would later divorce, with Buell filing restraining orders against Shivers, accusing him of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and of being a stalker).
  • Warren, played by Brendan Sexton III, was supposed to have a sister, but like Tobey Maguire, her scenes (and ultimately her character) were deleted from the final cut of the film.
  • The movie was written by a former employee of Tower Records store #166 (Christown Spectrum Mall) in Phoenix, Arizona. When the film was released and for a long time afterward, a number of her former coworkers still working cited anecdotes and other elements of the film that related to the store. This store closed in early 2005, ten years after the film's release.
  • The movie was filmed in New Jersey and North Carolina.[citation needed]
  • Two of Ethan Embry's siblings appear in the film (Aaron Embry - uncredited mosher, and Kessia Randall - autograph girl), as well as the stepdaughter of Maxwell Caulfield - the ballerina.
  • Ethan Embry and Liv Tyler would reunite a year later in Tom Hanks Directoral Debut Film, That Thing You Do!

[edit] Original soundtrack

  1. "Til I Hear It from You" by Gin Blossoms
  2. "Liar" by The Cranberries
  3. "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins
  4. "Free" by The Martinis
  5. "Crazy Life" by Toad the Wet Sprocket
  6. "Bright As Yellow" by The Innocence Mission
  7. "Circle of Friends" by Better Than Ezra
  8. "I Don't Want to Live Today" by Ape Hangers
  9. "Whole Lotta Trouble" by Cracker
  10. "Ready, Steady, Go" by The Meices
  11. "What You Are" by Drill
  12. "Nice Overalls" by Lustre
  13. "Here It Comes Again" by Please
  14. "The Ballad of El Goodo" by Evan Dando
  15. "Sugarhigh" by Coyote Shivers
  16. "The Honeymoon Is Over" by The Cruel Sea (This track only appears on the revised version of the soundtrack)

The version of the song "Sugarhigh" that appears in the movie differs significantly from the one included on the soundtrack. The main differences are that the movie version has additional lyrics and chorus vocals provided by Renée Zellweger and it is musically one semitone lower than the CD version.

Also notably absent from the soundtrack are the tracks "This Is The Day" by The The, played during the rooftop dancing scene before the closing credits, "Seems" by Queen Sarah Saturday, chosen by Mark after he wins the M&M challenge whilst preparing to open the store, and the song "Plowed" by Sponge.

[edit] Main cast

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rotten Tomatoes page for Empire Records
  2. ^ Empire Records review, September 22, 1995
  3. ^ Men of the Week in Enterainment; retrieved [May 14],[2007].

[edit] External links

Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Empire Records
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Records"
Personal tools