REVIEW: The Last Blockbuster (2020)
Located in Bend, Oregon (U.S.A.), not even Covid-19 has been able to stop this last bastion of pop culture for so many in a generation
Few youngsters will understand this today: Back in the early 90s, going to a Blockbuster store during the weekend was an experience. For the kids, there were party events, toys, balloons, fizzy drinks and sweets. For the adults, there were new releases, pre-viewed section for collectors, film magazines, and the pleasure of browsing hundreds of titles across many genres. Families allocated time in their agendas for a Blockbuster visit.1 With more than a hundred copies of a single hot new release, the competition to get one copy was sometimes fierce. It was a good time to be alive.
Unfortunately this documentary doesn’t deliver on the nostalgia. It tries to evoke it several times (especially in the first half-hour), but falls short. Even worse, of all the subjects that it touches (among them but not limited to: Sandi’s personal life, the logistics of operating the store, the increase media coverage and store reputation, and, above all, the story of how the corporate company fell apart), I was left with only a 'scratching the surface' feeling by the time the end credits rolled. And here’s my main point: By trying to tell the story of the last remaining store, it necessarily deals with the company’s past, but in doing so, it neglects to give 'life' to its main subject: The store!
One fascinating aspect about this story is the 'biggest mystery' of them all: How in the world this business keeps operating?! Even with a pandemic going on! Who is keeping it alive? I want to meet these saviours! Is it still running because of donations? I want to know every inch of the store and the people who work there. To be fair, we do see some of this, but rarely as the main attraction. For instance, in one scene, early in the morning, we see Sandi open the store and run at the back office to deactive the alarm, but then we quickly cut to another scene. Instead, why don’t you show us what’s in there! What kind of stuff does she keep there? Is there a bulleting board? What does it say? Where does she get all the movie posters? How many employees does she have? What’s the work culture like?
The idea is to bring the store to 'life', and what better way than interviewing the employees and customers who go there! Let them speak and take the spotlight to tell their relationship with the brand, store, city, industry, whatever! But no, we get lifeless interviews with mostly 'obscure celebrities'. And one of the few high-profile (and relevant) interviewees, Tom Casey (former Chief Financial Officer of Blockbuster), seems like he just wants to get it done, cash the check for his brief appearance, and close the chapter forever—on top of giving the impression that he was still (?) under a non-disclosure agreement (32:34), providing little valuable insight into days past.
The coverage of the actual store is disappointing, and for some historical perspective on the company, I might as well turn somewhere else. Luckily, Alan Payne (a twenty-five year Blockbuster franchisee), who also appears in the documentary, has just released a book titled Built to Fail: The Inside Story of Blockbuster's Inevitable Bust (Lioncrest Publishing, 2021). That’s my next stop.
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This account is based on my experiences. For the kids, all the things that I mention were standard, except the party events, which were done at the management discretion at each store and didn’t happen every week. And for adults, I witnessed several cases of people browsing for an hour or more (including myself). The 'agendas' statement refers to my family, but I believe it was highly likely that many other families did the same at some point or another. And I’m leaving out many details, like gaming stations, finding bargains in the pre-viewed section, waiting for half an hour or more at the 'quik drop' box for titles to be returned (sometimes in queues!), etc.