I love the ‘90s: the era, the music. The more a movie can act as a time capsule for the decade, the more I love it.
_Empire Records_ does not do this. It feels very much like a confused ‘80s movie trying to play grunge dress up. It really does come across like a John Hughes movie, painted with a coat of Seattle grey. _Singles_, _Reality Bites_, _The Craft_, these are true ‘90s movies.
_Empire Records_, on the other hand, is as much a '90s movie as _Clueless_ (released the same year). Yeah, they both happened to be released during the decade, but you change the soundtrack (which, for _Empire Records_, is very weak), and clothing (again, _Empire Records_ feels like mall grunge rather than a thrift store) and they could exist during any period.
Anyway, more of a rant, rather than a review. The movie itself is pretty boring. It takes place, mostly, during a single day. The characters are all annoying in their own way. The acting is all pretty subpar, except for Renee Zellweger (who I honestly though, up until this very moment, was Joey Lauren Adams), and Robin Tuney, who came to play. The fourth-wall breaks don’t help, in fact, they only serve to take me out of the moment and remind me that I am watching a movie... a shitty movie, at that.
Harsh criticism aside, there is a charm to the movie, and I could understand why some people would like it. I was full of teenage angst when the movie was released, and now I'm bored and old. In other words, a '90s movie that feels like a stage play just doesn't appeal to me. However, while watching it, I can get sucked into entertaining moments.