The Last Blockbuster (2020) Review

 

The Last Blockbuster (2020)

The Last Blockbuster follows the meteoric rise and the downfall of movie rental store Blockbuster, with only one still standing in Bend, Oregon.

The Netflix documentary, which is a little on the nose in some respects, was actually really neat because not only does it tell us all about the last remaining Blockbuster in the world, but also gives us details on why that came to be. It was fascinating to learn all about a business so near and dear to my own heart, being a product of a time before streaming services and ultimately before Netflix. And while the documentary itself was a bit non linear, jumping around some, it wasn’t hard to follow nor to understand, detailing that it wasn’t Netflix that killed the video rental business, but bad leadership in combination with the 2008 stock market crash.

On the flip side, is a little history on the last remaining Blockbuster, which started out as a Pacific Video, and has now been run by general manager Sandi Harding for over 15 years. Frankly too, the story about Blockbuster is cool, but I love Sandi’s story. She had essentially turned that last Blockbuster into a mecca for all that have come before, creating a family run business that stays up to date on releases and keeps so much of that nostalgic feeling alive inside the store.

The cast of interviewees is also a trip, featuring Sandi herself, Doug Benson, Ron Funches, Jamie Kennedy, Brian Posehn, and Kevin Smith. Personally with this cast too, I’m glad that they didn’t take the easy route and just interview people who have vague ideas of the business or who barely know it, and get people who lived it, loved it, and still have a personal stake it what it means to have one still around, with Smith’s appearance being a welcome sight for Clerks fans like me.

The Last Blockbuster, directed by Taylor Morden and narrated by Lauren Lapkus, is ultimately about the fall of not only Blockbuster, but in movie rental stores in general, and how one tiny little store in Bend, Oregon has persevered against all odds, to provide a family business that keeps the experience and nostalgia alive for hopefully many years to come.

8.4/10