Back in the day, long before streaming, the only way you could see a movie you actually had to watch in at a movie theater or hope you could catch a rerun on the TV. That all changed when video cassettes came out in the 1980s. Finally, you could go some place and check out one of your favorites or you had chance to find a new cinematic treasure. Sure, we checked out movies from chains like Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, but many of us have fond memories of going to our local independent video stores where you could rent out everything from monster hit movies to indie gems to the classics, and so much more. The staff of these treasured places were true film buffs and very knowledgeable about various genres. They were committed to the craft of film and shared that commitment with other film buffs.
Nowadays, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and the indie places are misty memories. Though you can stream movies via various services, maybe find a Redbox at your local grocery store, or maybe check out videos/DVDs from your local library. But being able to peruse the shelves of your favorite video store was truly a glorious thing.
Author Jeremy Hawkins takes us down memory lane in a time where video stores were waning, Netflix was sending out videos through the mail, and streaming was in its infancy in his funny and heartbreaking novel The Last Days of Video.
Wax Waring is the proprietor of the indie video store Star Video in the fictional college town of Appleton, North Carolina. For the longest time, Star Video is where the denizens of Appleton rented their tapes and then DVDs. Now its the year of our Lord 2007, and there is a threat on the horizon. A Blockbuster is opening up not far from Star Video, and Wax and his employees are not happy about this development.
Wax is a hot damn mess to begin with. He’s misanthropic, incorrigible, and a little too fond of getting drunk. But being a huge movie buff since he was a kid, Star Video should be Wax’s passion. Wax has dealt with a lot of obstacles in his way, and a Blockbuster is just another obstacle, a huge corporate behemoth that threatens Star Video and Wax’s way of life. What can Wax do to make Star Video survive this horrible onslaught?
Along for the ride are two of Wax’s employees at Star Video, Alaura and Jeff. Alaura is a rapidly aging manic pixie girl crossed with a goth. She has a penchant for getting involved with Mr. Wrongs and different types of religion looking for a sense of belonging (which also inspire her tattoo collection). But she does have enough sense to keep Star Video running as smoothly as possible (not always easy with Wax’s outbursts and frequent drinking and hangovers). Jeff is new to both Star Video and Appleton. He’s a student at Appleton University, a film buff begrudgingly studying business, but wanting to know more about different kinds of movies, and is developing a mad crush on Alaura, an older women.
The threat of Blockbuster behooves Wax, Alaura, and Jeff to save Star Video. There are also other situations that threaten their beloved video store, including a faith based video distribution company that isn’t thrilled about some of the videos Star Video rents out (porn and R-rated movies), and a weird life training cult that nearly sucks in Alaura. And then there is Netflix mailing out DVDs and the advent of streaming.
Wax, Alaura, and Jeff conspire different ways to save Star Video. One includes an old high school chum of Alaura’s a once rising star film director who sadly has released a couple of flops and is now seeing the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock.
Will Star Video survive or will it end up in the dustbin of cinematic and retail history? I absolutely loved The Last Days of Video. The characters are fully-sketched, and despite being total screw ups, you can’t help but root for Wax, Alaura, Jeff, and Star Video. This book made me nostalgic for one of my favorite independent places to rent videos, Video Adventures (RIP) on Milwaukee’s lower east side. Whether you remember the last days of video or just think of those days as ancient history, The Last Days of Video is a great read.
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