by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Two jobs that helped cultivate my love for movies were at movie rental stores. I worked at Hollywood Video back in high school and at Family Video a few years back. These were some of the most fun I’ve had at a job, perhaps ever. I got to talk about movies with people, watch movies, and expand my physical media library. Several challenges come up while working at a video rental place. First, every customer expects you to know every movie ever made based on the most basic of descriptions. You have to constantly explain why certain movies are always out of stock and have to tell people that you cannot hold certain movies off to the side for them, even if they were a good customer. You always have to push the concessions because that’s how the money is made. People figure out pretty quickly that if you don’t have the movie they were looking for, the library is available and free. Explaining late fees becomes a challenge, and working on holidays was always tough.
I was hoping for some of that in Netflix’s newest show about working at a video rental store.
Blockbuster, created by Vanessa Ramos, is set at the last Blockbuster standing after corporate folds up. The manager, Timmy (Randall Park), struggles to keep it afloat without any corporate support. His staff includes Eliza (Melissa Fumero), Carlos (Tyler Alvarez), Connie (Olga Merediz), Hannah (Madeleine Arthur), and Kayla (Kamaia Fairburn), who all have their issues working at a failing retail chain. With support from his friend, Percy (J.B. Smoove), Timmy learns what it takes to be a small business owner in a dying industry.
About two episodes in, I realized I had to dial back my expectations and let the show tell the story it wanted to tell. I went in hoping (and expecting against my better judgment) it would be like the movie Waiting… but with the movie rental industry instead of the restaurant industry. I wanted to see my experience on screen, especially in the face of Netflix cannibalizing the movie rental industry (the irony of this show streaming on Netflix is not lost on me). What I eventually realized is that I would not be getting that. There are minor commentaries on the movie rental industry, but overall Blockbuster is a workplace sitcom that happened to be set in a movie rental store.
For a sitcom, Blockbuster follows a lot of television tropes. The season is largely episodic, with only a small amount of stories connecting throughout the entire season. We see relationship crisis after relationship crisis, which also manifest drama due to lack of communication. We have a bottle episode where all the workers are stuck inside the store conducting inventory. We already even have our will-they-won’t-they couple on the show. All of this to say, Blockbuster is a basic show that squanders some potential by relying heavily on cheap jokes and generic plot lines.
If you are expecting storylines that involve corporate greed getting in the way of corporate innovation, or about the fancy startup versus the old established player, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The story for Blockbuster is a contained one about one store and the community they are a part of. We get storylines where all the characters have an issue that needs to get resolved, but there’s not enough time for us to get to know the characters to care about the issues they are having. We also deal with a fair amount of storylines not in the store. For other workplace comedies like Superstore or The Office, the best parts of the show are when they are at work. When the show deviates from that and attempts to focus more of the attention on outside work issues such as relationships, drama, or family issues, it tends to feel like filler. Blockbuster is full of moments like this, unfortunately, and it detracts from what we should be caring about: the store.
Blockbuster’s greatest sin might be that it’s only mildly funny. The cast is strong with comedy, but they don’t get very many chances to show it. This is more than likely due to so-so writing from episode to episode. Some of my favorite jokes have to do with movie-related puns or movie-related roasts, whether unintentional or intentional. The best parts of the series, and the funniest, all happen at the store. It becomes frustrating when the story is trying to jam all these other things in about the staff’s personal life without really allowing us to get to know them all better.
Don’t get me wrong, this show has some funny moments and the performances are enjoyable enough. Park is a great lead character and, should Blockbuster get a second season, deserves more of a chance to shine. We’re not dealing with a Michael Scott-like character who is an utter buffon at his job. Does he make questionable decisions at times? Yes, just like any retail manager does. However, Timmy’s greatest strengths as a manager are that he cares about his employees and he cares about his store. It is refreshing to see someone who loves what they do and is good at their job being the main character.
The supporting cast is serviceable enough. Fumero and her Brooklyn Nine-Nine street cred makes for a great lieutenant. Her character is bogged down by a bad story and neuroticism that are not explained. The other four each have a few shining moments, but they all have to split screen time and get surface-level stories. Percy is a great supporting character. Smoove knows his role: comedic relief with best friend duties. His performance is slightly more toned down than his other ones, which I appreciated. He may be my favorite character on the show.
I had semi-high expectations for Blockbuster. I should have tampered them down and let the show tell me its story organically. Instead, I’m left disappointed with how generic and paint-by-numbers it is — it has nearly nothing to say about the movie rental business, Hollywood, or even just small business. If by some chance Blockbuster gets a season two, I expect it to be funnier, have a better story, and let its performers shine a little bit more. If this is their only season, it is one to skip, or at least put at the bottom of your queue.
Score: 5/10
Blockbuster is currently streaming on Netflix
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