It's no Empire Records
But it still kicks a lot of ass! I was a teenager in the 90's so I think I identify with this flick more than teens now might, but it's still one of my favorites.
shareI dont' know, I thought Empire Records SUCKED! It was mildly funny...but the portrayal that it's a semi-punk movie is a disgrace to punk in general....
This movie was awesome, because it represented a lot IMO.
But whatever, to each his own.
For the sake of disclosure, I never saw Empire Records. Only know about it because its soundtrack sold a ton of CDs. That thing had little staying power, because it now repeatedly turns up in the bargain bins of thrift stores.
But looking at the artists on that soundtrack: Better Than Ezra, Gin Blossoms, Toad The Wet Sprocket? That's not even trying to be punk. That's adult contemporary.
It was alternative at the time the soundtrack came out.
I love that soundtrack.
But no, I would not call it a "punk" movie and can't imagine who would.
I was just thinking about this. In the 00's, it was indie. In the 90's, alternative. In the 80's, modern rock. In the 70's, new wave.
These were all the more commercially palatable punk offshoots of their time. That's not meant as a putdown, either. The artists were influenced by punk but didn't identify as part of that scene.