8. Empire Records
Its Rex Manning Day. Full of memorable one liners, a great soundtrack and the always excellent Anthony La Paglia, this film seems to be the forerunner for modern high school comedies like 10 Things I Hate About You and less inspiring fare like Shes all That. What makes Empire Records better than these films is its anarchic humour and beatnik cool. A group of youngsters work at the record store of the title and we get to see their trials and tribulations whilst they go about their days at the store. LaPaglia is great as the store owner and they all come together, despite their differences, to try and save Empire Records from being taken over by a large chain. It celebrates the right to be an individual and cautions that selling your principles for money is a souless venture. Today we are seeing some of the big chain record stores dying out and I personally have seen a couple of independent stores opening up, so maybe in our tough economic times we will see a comeback for the type of store featured in Empire Records. I for one hope so. It features early performances from Liv Tyler, Renee Zellwegger and Robin Tunney (The Mentalist, The Craft). I discovered this movie whilst channel surfing very late one evening and I was hooked immediately, I couldnt believe I had never heard of it before. It is funny, sharp and a little crazy, so take my advice, damn the man and save Empire Records (and own this film). You will be quoting its lines and singing its songs for weeks to come.