Blu-ray Review: The Last Blockbuster

STUDIO: Passion River | DIRECTOR: Taylor Morden
RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2021; Blu-ray/DVD Combo $19.99
BONUS FEATURES: featurettes, additional interviews, music video, trailer, more 
SPECS: NR | 86 min. | Documentary

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie  1/2

It doesn’t seem long ago that were thousands of blockbuster video stores across the country, almost as common as a Dunkin’ Donuts or a McDonalds.

The quick demise of video retail outlets—and Blockbuster, in particular—is the primary subject of the scrappy and engaging documentary The Last Blockbuster.

A lot of the film focuses on Sandi Harding, an overworked mom and general manager for years of the Blockbuster Video outlet in Bend, Oregon. A large anchor to a strip shopping center, this particular Blockbuster is one of the scant remnants of the once-bustling video giant. And its health in the days of NetFlix and an infiltration of video streaming services (this was filmed before COVID) can best be defined as: hanging in there, but barely.

The saga of Sandi’s day-to-day ordeals, which include a makeshift repair attempt on a damaged computer and buying DVDs from department stores for her to rent out at Blockbuster, take up a solid chunk of the film.

But director Taylor Morden smartly uses this storyline to pivot to other subjects that should be of interest to film fans, business-minded audiences and people who get nostalgic when they discuss a specific cover on a VHS tape. (Okay, present company included).

Peppered throughout The Last Blockbuster is an eclectic group of people commenting on Blockbuster, general video renting habits, the checkered history the chain and more. Among those offering anecdotes are filmmaker Kevin Smith, actors Ione Skye and Adam Brody, comics Brian Posehn and Jamie Kennedy and members of the groups Soundgarden and Savage Garden.

But another interview subject pops up briefly who steals the show. The filmmakers visit Lloyd Kaufman, the colorful president of low-budget independent studio Troma Entertainment in New York. Much to the surprise of his interviewers, Kaufman questions their cinematic knowledge then lets out a stream of now-censored profanities geared towards Blockbuster’s former chairman and the chain’s business practices. This turns what was a sweet and nostalgic film into something, at least temporarily, completely different.

Makes you wonder, though: Does anyone else agree with Kaufman? Is he making a salient point or is he just being kooky?

If The Last Blockbuster had gone a little further it would have been worth the price of that weekly rental…plus the late fees.