#TBT: Empire Records

Empire Records may have been a dud at the box office when it was released in 1995, but it’s since become a cult classic. I personally have seen the film too many times to count and have attended summer outdoor screenings that seem to be popular on both coasts. At those screenings, lines are rambunctiously shouted out by the audience and the shared experience that creates makes the film even more enjoyable.

As many teen films before it, Empire Records at its heart was about a group of misfit teenagers: a goth, a good girl, a slutty girl, an artist, a wannabe, a stoner, and a cool kid (another classic film, The Breakfast Club, comes to mind). They bicker; they support each other; they fight to save their record store (in the immortal words of Mark, “Damn the man. Save the Empire!”). Oh, and the movie also has a killer soundtrack (duh, it’s set in a record store).

Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable lines (there are so many we had trouble narrowing it down, but we did it):

“This music is the glue of the world, Mark. It’s what holds it all together. Without this, life would be meaningless.” -Eddie (James ‘Kimo’ Wills)

“We mustn’t dwell. No, not today. We can’t! Not on Rex Manning Day!” -Mark (Ethan Embry)

“Well Sinead O’Rebellion. Shock me, shock me, shock me with that deviant behavior.” –Gina (Renee Zellweger)

“God, that is so clever. I swear you get smarter the shorter your skirt gets.” – Debra (Robin Tunney)

“My name isn’t f*cking WARREN!” -Warren (Brendan Sexton III)

“What’s with today today?” -Lucas (Rory Cochrane)

Corey (Liv Tyler) to A.J. (Johnny Whitworth): You listen to me! You’re so special and you’re so talented and you have everything it takes! You have MORE than everything it takes and you’re REALLY stupid because you don’t know that. And I know you don’t love me anymore, and I know that I blew it, but at least I know that, and if you don’t go to art school and if you don’t understand how special you are then you know nothing!