Or if you’re a generation older, the story goes like this.
The year is 2000. You work at Blockbuster. A man and his child are picking out 2 movies for the weekend. A drunk old man wearing only a bathrobe approaches the counter and loudly asks where we keep the pornos. The man and his child quickly nope out of there and you’re left dealing with the drunk.
I actually worked at blockbuster in 2000. Got fired because I couldn’t come in right after getting my wisdom teeth taken out although they begged me to come back after.
Never had anyone ask for pornos lol. Usually you had to go to the video store run by a 60+ year old man or woman for those.
I was on pretty good terms with our manager. We’d write comments in the computer on customer accounts to try to get each other to laugh when we scanned the card. Some of the comments were about the customer, most was just random nonsense. I remember scanning a card and an alert notice popped up with the message “I pooped in the drop box” and I just lost it.
The year is 2000. I walk into a Hollywood Video. The manager loudly tells me he told me the week prior to never come back.
I was not in the store a week prior.
“Bold of you to presume that I had one of those.”
“Which one - a Blockbuster or a dad?”
“Yes.:-P”
Movie Gallery was good to me. 5 movies for 5 days for 5 dollars.
My hometown still had this deal going in their local movie rental store until 2020. I miss that place they were the only way to find all the good cult classics after Netflix gutted that part of their selection. So many memories, and after moving away I’d still road trip people there to watch them light up “there’s still a movie store!?”. They gave the movie collection to the local library who immediately auctioned everything alphabetically in bulk so that whole ordeal has been a major loss for the community 😔
Now I got 200 movies in my media center and I can’t find time to watch at least one once a week
I played so many different SNES, Genesis, and PS1 games this way. My dad was my sane parent growing up, and every weekend I got to stay with him he did this with me. He’d pick me up from school, we’d score some movies and games, and have dinner. No fighting, no crazy outbursts. Just fun times and chill.
When I was younger he used to read me Hardy Boys mysteries at night. He was a great dad.
You could rent systems for the weekend! New Sonic game came out but you have the SNES? Rent the Genesis and the game, and have a couple friends spend the night.
In 2000 there was a fella who’d drive a van around our estate packed with all these Playstation games, tapes, Game Boy cartridges, all kinds. I think it was a fiver a week to rent a Playstation game off him. That was the end of my pocket money.
It’s the 90’s. You’re friend’s with the guy that runs the local no name video store. He holds copies of new releases so you can pick them up after high school and give you first dibs on used tapes about to go on sale.
It’s a Friday in the year 2000. I’m far too poor to spend gas money to get to Blockbuster, let alone rent anything from it.
It’s not quite the same, but I get a similar vibe now when I check out DVDs at the library. And no late fees!
Thrift store DVDs cost less than renting used to and you get to keep them forever (or return them whenever).
Libraries are free though!