The Last Blockbuster

The Last Blockbuster is a heartwarming and nostalgic documentary that takes the viewer on a journey through the rise and fall of the icon of American pop culture - the Blockbuster video rental store. The film was directed by Taylor Morden, and features interviews with prominent celebrities including Lauren Lapkus, Kevin Smith, Tom Casey, and many others who share their unique perspectives and experiences about this once omnipresent institution. The movie was released in 2020, perfectly timing for a time when the world was in the throes of a pandemic, and many of us were longing for simpler times.

The film is set against the backdrop of the one remaining store in Bend, Oregon. The central figure of the documentary is Sandi Harding, the Bend store's manager, serving as the custodian of Blockbuster's legacy. She embodies the values of customer service and neighborly care that made Blockbuster a community hub during its heyday. Her tenacious efforts to keep the store relevant and operational in the digital age form a crucial part of the narrative.

The Last Blockbuster isn't just the story of a brand; it's also a testament to the dramatic shift in how we consume media. The film takes viewers through the origins of Blockbuster, a brainchild of entrepreneur David Cook, that transformed movie rental into a streamlined, customer-friendly experience. The blue and yellow sign, well-lit interiors, vast selection, and freedom to browse to one's heart content were a far cry from the dingy, haphazard rental stores that preceded Blockbuster.

As the documentary recounts, the chain quickly became a nationwide sensation and a beloved routine of the Friday night experience. The film evokes fond memories of video rental culture, with insightful interviews from industry insiders and celebrities who grew up during the heydays of Blockbuster. These contributors, including actor/director Kevin Smith and comedian/actor Lauren Lapkus, discuss how Blockbuster influenced their perceptions of cinema and impacted their careers.

However, the narrative is not all rosy. The Last Blockbuster also delves into the challenges faced by the company - rapidly changing technology, tough competition, high-speed internet, the surge of streaming services like Netflix, and a multitude of business decisions that eventually led to Blockbuster's downfall.

Amid all these, the documentary provides an excellent exploration of parallels between how we used to consume media and the instant gratification culture prevalent today. It explores the tactile pleasure of picking out a video, the thrill of discovering hidden gems among the shelves, and the joy of communal watching. These were experiences that forged bonds of collective memory and nostalgia.

In The Last Blockbuster, the viewer is invited to contemplate the value of such tactile and social experiences. It questions whether the price we pay for having the world at our fingertips is perhaps the loss of these communal joys and shared cultural experiences.

Visually, the film is a treat, combining vintage video store aesthetics with the lush Pacific Northwestern landscape of Bend, Oregon. It serves as a love letter to Bend and the community that keeps Harding's Blockbuster alive. It's a visually rich, warm, and engaging documentary about an era that feels long gone, despite only officially ending in 2013. It’s filled with nostalgic nods to the pop culture of yesteryears, capturing the sense of a bygone era.

Beyond being a documentary about a video store chain, at its heart, The Last Blockbuster is a story about passion, resilience, and community. It's about the heroic efforts of those who refuse to let a beloved tradition die, those that swim against the tide in their own little corner of the world. Through Harding's story and the Bend community, the film presents a broader and more poignant narrative about how we value physical human interaction and shared community experiences in an increasingly digital world.

Final thoughts - The Last Blockbuster is a must-watch for movie lovers and for any 90s kid who ever rushed to their local store to get their hands on the latest releases before they were all rented. Even those who don't hail from the Blockbuster era will find this documentary engaging, as it's about more than just a store. It's about changes in technology, business, our consumption of media, and ultimately, it's about how we remember and treasure the parts of our past that have shaped our present.