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Duluth News Tribune, Christa Lawler column [Duluth News Tribune :: ](Duluth News-Tribune (MN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 10--It wasn't streaming on Netflix or Amazon Prime, and iTunes was only offering the opportunity to own ($14.99), rather than rent ($4.99). The movie is in its post-Redbox and pre-grocery store bargain bin period. The Duluth Public Library had zero of three copies available. It's not on Vimeo, YouTube or Crackle. "Wait. You went to a video store?" my friend asked. I felt very now when she said that. Like, maybe on the technology scale, I give off an air of being closer to brain Internet radio than, say, the Sony Walkman. I did -- I went to a video store. I love video stores. Video stores are a perfect tribute to the 1990s. You could build a video store tomorrow and even if it was a glass enclosure around white walls with white trim, and even if it favored clean lines and was void of clutter, it would still somehow manage to look like a Doc Marten fever dream. Video stores are a testament to a time that required a different skill set: The Flip and Scan that preceded the Browse and Click. And there is something about people who work in video stores. It's like they know something -- and not just the Who and Why of Academy Awards season. They know key grips and the best instances of chiaroscuro in film. There is this sense that before you walked into the store and found "The LEGO Movie" seemingly playing on a loop, the employees were gathered around a grainy VHS version of "Suspiria." Downloading and streaming means that pixels magically arrange themselves into the formation of "Her" on your screen. It's perfect. With renting, there is always the opportunity for a glitch. The DVD whirrs, the pretty face contorts to something heavy-lidded and melt-y. "Is it your turn to lick the disc?" your movie-mate might ask. "It is," you might respond, taking a lap around the polycarbonate plastic with your licker. "Hm. Previous viewer of said film enjoyed BBQ-flavored Corn Nuts and ... I'm getting Strawberry Fanta. Yes. Strawberry Fanta." Really, this ho-humming the possibility of imperfection is really what the 1990s were all about. Still, this video store is more of a place to vacation than a place to live. When the resident toddler saw the rented disc sitting on the kitchen table, she pointed and asked "Dat?" "Never mind," I told her. "It doesn't matter." I tapped the side of her melon. "Let's just save that space for something important." Christa Lawler, arts & entertainment for the News Tribune, writes about pop culture. ___ (c)2014 the Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.) Visit the Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.) at www.duluthnewstribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |