Trailer Park: Empire Records

Movie
Empire Records, released on September 22 1995

Trailer Synopsis
A bunch of teens work at a record store called Empire Records. In a wacky series of character-based montages and some rhyming from our narrator, we are introduced to AJ, Lucas, Corey, Deb, Gina and Mark. They’ve each got one thing about them: AJ is lovesick, Lucas lost some money, Corey is a virgin who wants to bang, Deb is suicidal, Gina is a slut and Mark is just kind of manic. There’s also an authority figure played by Anthony Lapaglia and an accompanying soundtrack album.

Does It Honestly Represent the Movie?
Yes, mostly. All of the action in Empire Records takes place over the course of a single day, but the movie is still maddeningly episodic in its construction. It never really gives itself over to one narrative thrust until late in the movie when the characters decide to try to save the store by throwing a party. Until then, it’s mostly a series of colliding b-plots, most of which are honestly represented in the trailer: AJ is in love with Corey and is fretting over her leaving town for college; Corey is horny for over-the-hill pop star Rex Manning, who is visiting the store that day; Lucas is responsible for the inciting incident of the film but mostly plays a kind of zen philosopher for the bulk of the running time; Deb is just kind of there with a shaved head; Gina offers little more than comic relief (and is Corey’s best friend); Mark isn’t really given much to do besides freak out a bunch. We don’t get to know any one character especially intimately, though Corey probably ends up getting the most screen time (possibly because she’s played by Liv Tyler, who was unequivocally the biggest star in the cast at the time thanks to her appearances in Aerosmith videos).

Does It Make You Want to See The Movie?
It couldn’t have been that effective, as Empire Records was a box office bomb. It wasn’t given a ton of opportunity to shine, as it was only released on 87 screens and was crushed by the one-two punch of Se7en and Showgirls (both of which also premiered the same weekend). However, the trailer does do a pretty good job of selling the soundtrack—I can’t remember another trailer that carves out time at the end to shout out Better Than Ezra and Toad the Wet Sprocket. That sell worked: the soundtrack made it to number 63 on the Billboard album chart and the Gin Blossoms single “Til I Hear It From You” was their highest-charting single.

What’s Weird About It?
A lot! In addition to the soundtrack shout-out, the single most bizarre thing about the Empire Records trailer is that it never names its actors. Sure, most of the performers became big well after Empire Records faded from memory, but in addition to the aforementioned Tyler, some of them already had heat: Renee Zellweger had already shown up (albeit briefly) in the generation-defining comedies Reality Bites and Dazed and Confused, Rory Cochrane also had a memorable turn in Dazed, Ethan Embry (still credited here under his real name Ethan Randall) was a child star with effective turns in Dutch and All I Want For Christmas, and Anthony Lapaglia was in the middle of one of his hottest runs. Nobody had the type of name that would draw people in, but it’s strange that the trailer didn’t make any attempt to make them feel special. If nothing else, Tyler would have been a recognizable name thanks to the Aerosmith connection, and she’s got the pole position on the poster, and it’s (mostly) her movie.

Also, the “let’s meet the characters” structure is really odd and kind of off-putting. We’re just meeting these people. Why do we care about them? Can I interest you in a song by the Cranberries?

Does It Spoil The Movie?
Kind of, in the sense that there are a lot of scenes from the third act shoved in there. But as we established, there’s no real plot to spoil. The one thing that stands out is the kiss between AJ and Corey. Theoretically, the whole movie builds up to the moment they get together, so it’s weird that they give it away in the trailer. But again, the trailer seems more interested in introducing us to alternative never-weres Ape Hangers than it is in its own characters.

Final Analysis
I have an irrational love for Empire Records. It’s quite possibly the movie I’ve seen more than any other, largely because I got it on VHS as part of a Columbia House order and I spent the bulk of my high school years doing homework with various movies on in the background. (Even today, I can’t work in silence.) (Other tapes in that collection included Men in Black and Mallrats, so I’ve also passively seen those movies like a million times.) Even though I love the movie, I find the trailer strangely irritating—it makes Empire Records feel more manic than it actually is. In reality, it’s mostly an episodic hangout movie with an absolutely killer soundtrack. The trailer, strangely, seems to agree with the review that appeared in Variety that called Empire Records “a soundtrack in search of a movie.” For people who have seen it, it’s a nice reminder of all those great songs and the moment before most of this cast blew up pretty huge, but I can’t imagine sitting in a theater and getting excited about it based on those two minutes. 4/10