Bad movie rental interventions

[wickednick]

Im curious if any one has ever stoped a complete stranger from renting a bad movie. I have never done this my self but there has been several times when I've come really close to doing so.

[odinn7]

I mentioned in a previous post some time ago...
Although I have not done this myself, the people at my local Ballbuster video seem to feel the need to "save" me whenever I rent something that they don't approve of. It's happened more than a few times and it's not always the same person doing it. I suppose I could spend my life renting oscar winning movies and then they might look up to me as some kind of role model (for the dense out there, that was a sarcastic remark; you know who you are) but I really can't stand those movies. I'd rather rent crap.

[Mr. Hockstatter]

I just try to avoid eye contact as much as possible and blend in with the surroundings.

[AndyC]

Can't say I've ever paid much attention to what other people are renting, unless they don't know enough to keep their voices down. That would be bratty kids trying to make their parents rent something, the obnoxious teenager who proclaims that everything his friends want to rent sucks, or just the couples who can't agree on anything. I just try to ignore them. Even if I cared, I'd never presume to tell a total stranger what he will or won't like.

The staff at the local Blockbuster here are actually pretty good - real movie fans. I once even got commended for being the first customer of the day to rent something other than a new release.

Still, most of my rentals come from an independent store run by people like us, where the big new Hollywood hits are found in a little corner in the back.

[Fluffy Catfood]

Well I tell you what, I wish someone intervened when friends of mine decided to rent American psycho 2, god damn that was terrible movie, thats the last time I let anybody choose for me. :(

[JohnL]

I've never intervened in someone's movie rental (would be hard to do since I almost never rent anything), but last week, I did let a mother know that the game she was thinking of buying for her son could only be played over the internet and that it require something like $30 a month to join some specialized service to be able to use it. She thanked me and put it back in a hurry. I wouldn't have said anything, but neither she or her young son seemed especially knowledgable about computers and I saw that neither of them more than glanced at the back of the box.

[dean]

I could almost hear the store attendant cringe inwardly in pain when they saw that I was going to rent How To Deal, one of Mandy Moore's straight to video releases.  No I will not comment on why that movie was rented, but I assure you, thankfully, that it's not dirty in anyway.  I also happened to rent Ed Wood and Raising Arizona.

Actually, me and my girlfriend got commended for renting 'Crybaby' with Johnny Depp, that movie is so nuts!  The store clerk gushed something about us having the best taste in movies and was all enthusiastic, that was until the next video that was to be rented was 'Glitter' [don't knock it till you watch it, then knock it plenty!]

After that she kind of looked at us funny.

[Brother Ragnarok]

Yes, Glitter is really that bad.  And How to Deal wasn't DTV, it ran for a week or so in a theater in my hometown.
As for intervening, when I worked at Movies America during my first few years at college, I can't even remember how many people I stopped from renting Valentine and Fast and the Furious, or how many people I sent home with Evil Dead, Ginger Snaps, or the like.  I felt...good somehow, knowing that, even if they didn't like it, some stupid teeny-boppers were being exposed to something interesting and different.

Brother R

[The Burgomaster]

Wyckednick wrote:

"Im curious if any one has ever stoped a complete stranger from renting a bad movie. I have never done this my self but there has been several times when I've come really close to doing so."

Yes! I worked in a video store back in the 1980s.  It used to bug me when customers would ask me for a recommendation, but then refuse to rent the movie I suggested because it was "old."  I would say, "sure it's old . . . but if you have never seen it, what's the difference?"  (In many cases, the movie was less than 5 years old, but they still considered it to be an "old" movie).  Instead, they would rent a really crappy new release.  I remember one time I asked a customer if she would rather rent a very good "old" movie or a terrible new release.  The customer chose the terrible new release.

It used to bug me how often customers would nearly knock each other over to get their hands on a copy of a stupid movie like MANNEQUIN, but they would refuse to rent the good movies that were sitting on the shelves gathering dust.



Post Edited (03-31-04 12:38)

[Dirtcreature]

Tell me about it!

I only EVER stop friends from renting dross. Strangers...well, it's up to them to develope taste.

So called old films.  Event Horizon was not only considered old for being on video for 3 years but also was called s**te! Stopping someone from renting Valentine was a very humane thing to do, that film was awful!

Even the films that get what known as "Critical acclaim" are a bit stupid. I think I'm the only person who thinks that Being John Malkovich was just weird for weirds' sake.

But consider the old films...The Godfather, Scarface, Apocalypse Now, Assault on Precinct 13, Alien, Day of the Dead...thses films may be "old", but they still beat the pants off of films today of similar genres. Try making a film about a few people in a soon to be demolished police house defending against a horde of psych gang members today, and it'll be all glitzy, the actors good-looking rather realistic, the best weapons on hand, and the lead lady not even touched by a speck of dust!

The folks at my Blockbuster actually told me not to rent Ring because "It's got those stupid subtitles, and it's in a funny language" , that they've never heard of a film called "Julian Caesar", and many other weird things ike that.

And recently I heard someone say this in my local Blockbuster..."The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? What contrived dross! The Critics say it's idiotic nonsense! Ohh, look over here...shall we get one these? They're both meant to be amazing films...which one? Navy SEALS or Cherry Falls?"

Go figure...

[AndyC]

Dirtcreature wrote:
> And recently I heard someone say this in my local
> Blockbuster..."The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? What
> contrived dross! The Critics say it's idiotic nonsense! Ohh,
> look over here...shall we get one these? They're both meant to
> be amazing films...which one? Navy SEALS or Cherry Falls?"

Funny, yet very very disturbing. Ever notice that it is often the people with no taste who are the pickiest about what they watch?

Can't say I have any respect for people who let critics think for them. Personally, I won't read any reviews of a movie before I've seen it, at least if it's something I really want to see. Same with word of mouth. Try to tell me about a movie I haven't seen yet, and I'll clap my hands over my ears and go "Lalalalalalalala!" If there is one thing that can wreck an otherwise good movie for me, it is watching it with expectations, either positive or negative.

Actually, some of the crappiest movies I've ever seen were ones that had a lot of positive buzz. I've learned my lesson.

[Mofo Rising]

Actually, the two times I stopped people from renting movies both involved Peter Jackson movies.  I was working in a video store at the time.

The first I'll recount is a lady who showed up with what I surmised was a slumber party of some sort.  The kids had picked out MEET THE FEEBLES.  Normally I would let it fly, but these kids weren't even into their teens yet.  I pointed out to the mother that their kids had actually picked out one of the most depraved movies in the store.  They didn't get that movie that night.

If any of you are thinking I was a bad person for that, I am going to defend myself with the next story.

Some kid, early teenager I don't know, showed up with his sister I guess.  Anyway, he had seen part of DEAD ALIVE on IFC and wanted to see the rest.  So he grabbed our copy (I worked at Hollywood Video), and brought it to the counter.  I pointed out that our copy was the R-rated version to him, and therefore quite useless as it was missing most of the gore.  The older sister asked why he would want to rent such filth in the first place.  The kid tried to defend himself against her saying that the movie without the gore made no sense.  I wanted to defend him, because of course the kid was right, but there's only so far you can go as a chain rental clerk.  Anyway, at least I saved him from having to watch a butchered version of a great movie.

As for the regular people you meet in the store, well what's funnier than hearing a girl convincing her boyfriend into renting MONA LISA SMILE?

[maria paula]

if i would work in a video store  i would cheer everybody to pick a bad film.

[Mr. Hockstatter]

I actually liked Cherry Falls.  

Navy SEALS...egads.  That was truly awful.