Along my path from home to the Atlantic Pacific stop is a hair cutters with lots of photos in the window. I walk this path everyday and, apparently, do not pay any attention. (On this street there is also a wall covered in posters. One day, while sitting across the street at Gorilla Coffee enjoying a beverage, I noticed one of these posters read: "What's the difference between a hockey mom and a killer rabbit?" And the huge graphic on the poster is a rabbit wearing lipstick. I laughed. Then I realized I had been walking by this poster for like a month and never read it. So much for advertising, even funny advertising like this.)
A few months ago, I did a retake on one of the hair style photos because one of the hair models looked alot like a young Seth Rogen. That was because it was a young Seth Rogen. It was one in a series of year book photos taken in the opening sequence for "Freeks and Geeks." (Seriously, people, if you haven't seen it yet, do so right now. You can youtube full episodes or you can borrow it from Peggy. She bought the complete series, because, you know, that girl just can't get enough.) I thought, what a great sense of humor this haircutters has that they included Freeks and Geeks among the advertised styles.
Today, I was going to Gorilla Coffee to get a pound, and I noticed that all the Freeks and Geeks photos had been taken down. All but Bill (Martin Starr). I thought, "Wow, Bill is the last man standing. That's unexpected. Why would they take down everyone but Bill?"
So I bought buy coffee and got my free cup and stared my day. On the way back home I walked past the haircutters and noticed that it the place with the yearbook photos was actually a different store. The Freaks and Geeks lovers are across the street. So much for supercuts having a sense of humor.
Now, well on my way to being caffeinated, I decided to investigate the Bill situation to see if maybe all the other yearbook photos had just fallen down. But, no, they were gone. All but Bill. On the door of ths place were lots of flyers and one jumped out at me. It said, Thank you for all your years of patronage. You can visit us at our other location." I looked up. This was actually Video Free Brooklyn. That, along with the photos from Arrested Development and The Simpsons, started to explain the presence of Seth Rogen.
I guess that means that Bill was not the last man standing, but the one that was left behind. It seems like that might happen to Bill often.
I understand why video stores can't stay open: their product (videos) has become obsolete. But their service (knowledge of and appreciation for movies and the benefits of a community of movie lovers) becomes more scarce. You can always google an actor to find his CV. But you cannot google "what's his name, you know he walks like this and has a facial tick," or any of the other phrases and movements and descriptions that we use to get to an answer from a knowledgeable human being. Like having a good wine store with staff that make helpful suggestions and steer you towards wines you would like but wouldn't otherwise try, a good staff at a video store can open up new worlds to home movie viewers.
Movies like Clerks get made when video store employees spend too much time together. Actors like Adam Brody get their starts working in Blockbuster. These stores hold a place in movie history and it is sad that they are going the way of silent film.
