Mom n' Pop: The Indie Video Store Boom of the 80s/90s

Writer/ Director Bobby Canipe Jr. Brought a tear to my eye after Watching 'Mom n' Pop: The Indie Video Store Boom of the 80s/90s' . Wow it brought back tons of memories for me.

I fondly recall my teenage years spent working at Park Video, a small-town video store where I indulged in my love for horror movies while getting paid. It was truly the best job I ever had. Now, Bobby Canipe Jr's documentary offers a nostalgic journey back to the glory days of neighborhood video shops when they reigned supreme. For those longing for the days of browsing aisles of VHS tapes, the documentary hits all the right notes. It vividly captures the creepy separate section for horror films, tucked away in the back next to the adult section.

Ah, those were the days! Canipe explores the history and culture of video stores with a heartfelt appreciation, covering the rise and fall of independent video rental businesses exactly as I remember it. The film celebrates the unsung heroes who made movies accessible to small-town America. I vividly remember the joy of discovering new films and the thrill of renting them for a few days. 'Mom n' Pop' is a beautiful tribute to such an important part of cinema history.

Reliving this era with fellow filmmakers like Lloyd Kaufman, Tim Ritter, and Paul Petroskey is a joy. Their insights into the impact of video stores on American film are brilliant. Canipe has crafted a documentary that transports viewers back to a magical period where phrases like 'Be Kind Rewind' brought back so many memories.

It's only in recent years that I've come to realize how short of a window the video rental store had in our culture. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's, it was just a part of your world, no more or less prevalent than fast food restaurants, and the idea that it could all disappear in our adulthood wasn't even a consideration. Only now can we look back and recognize that this iconic part of our childhood, with its own unique feel and culture, was something that could have only existed at a specific time and place, and only for a short time.

This film examines that culture - specifically that of independent rental stores and the ways that they influenced our lives, and it does so in a way that fits what these rental shops were. It's not a sterile history lesson with a Blockbuster Video logo slapped on the cover - it's a collection of stories and memories shared by people who have a genuine love of movies and whose experiences at small, independent video stores have a permanent place in their memory and in their hearts. Watching this reminded me of my own experiences of renting tapes at places like Heights Terrace Video in Hazleton, PA or at the Pantry Quik convenience store near my grandparents house.

I would strongly recommend this to anyone who loves movies. Watching this feels like it felt hanging out at the video store when I was a teenager, and whether you were there to experience these stores or not, I'm confident that it will bring a smile to your face.