The internet has decided that Rex Manning Day from the 1990s coming-of-age comedyEmpire Recordsdeserves to be celebrated in real life as much as it does on film. Opening to negative reviews and a poor box office performance,Empire Recordscould have easily been forgotten as anotherknock-off ofThe Breakfast Club, but time has been kind to the Allan Moyle-directed teen comedy-drama. Thanks to some ’90s nostalgia, the latersuccess ofEmpire Record’s cast, and a reappraisal of its tight and funny story, the film is now a cult classic.
Empire Recordsis filled with catchy dialogue and references that might go over the heads of some younger viewers. Characters are noted for their similarities to Warren Beatty and Sinéad O’Connor, say things like “Wassup”, and engage in ironic anti-establishment banter that’s pro-Empire Records, which is itself an establishment.Empire Recordsdid not change the movie game in any way, and it’s slight compared to similar teen coming-of-age comedies, butit lives on in more ways than one, including through Rex Manning Day.
Who Is Rex Manning?
Rex Manning Is A Washed-Up ’80s Pop Star
Rex Manning, played by Maxwell Caulfield, is a washed-up 1980s pop idolwho comes to the Empire Records record store to hold an autograph signing session for his latest albumBack with More. The staff of hip teens are less than enthused to have this over-the-hill singer taking up space in the store and let him know it. Corey (Liv Tyler) feels different and tries to seduce him, which ends in humiliation.
10 Best Songs in Empire Records
Empire Records was a definitive ’90s movie with an essential soundtrack for a generation, including songs by Dire Straits and Rex Manning himself.
Gina (Renée Zellweger), however, succeeds and does have sex with Manning, leading to a fight with Corey and Manning being asked to leave. Manning’s arrival is the big to-do that everyone in Empire Records is worried about for the first half of the film, and it’s his liaison with Gina that is the final straw in her brewing rivalry with Corey. Ostensibly friends, there’s tension between the pair, andGina taking Manning from Corey causes their resentments to spill out.
Rex Manning Day Is Celebrated On April 8
The Staff At Empire Records Dubs The Date A Holiday
As teenagers are wont to do, they immediately dub Manning’s arrival as “Rex Manning Day”, a performative act of celebration that’s actually a way to mock him. The name has stuck though, andpeople on the internet still celebrate it on April 8, the same dayEmpire Recordsis set on, which also happens to be the day rock legend Kurt Cobain died. That’s not a coincidence. Ethan Embry, who plays Mark, said that day was specifically chosen (viaX),
“The reason we picked April 8th as the day to have the powdered/coifed Rex Manning visit Empire is because Kurt was found on the 8th of April, the day the music of the 90s lost its mascot.
#RexManningDay”
According toKnowYourMeme, the first instances of people outside the movie referencing “Rex Manning Day” came around 2006 when a usersavejackposted an image onBlogspotof Rex Manning with the quote, “Marsi- I love you…you’re one sexy biotch.” Since then, more and more people have gotten in on the meme, posting favorite quotes from the film whenever April 8 comes around as a way to celebrate the cult movie.
Other Famous Movie & TV Show “Days”
Mean Girls, Miss Congeniality, And More All Have Special Holidays
“Rex Manning Day” is not the first real-life celebration to come out of a fictional day from a movie, the most memorable probably beingMean Girls' October 3rd, based on Cady’s (Lindsay Lohan) excitement to tell Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) the date. There are plenty more.Miss CongenialityDay is on April 25, based on a beauty pageant’s misguided response to a question. Galentine’s Day fromParks and Recreationis celebrated the day after Valentine’s and is all about platonic female love.
Parks and Recreation
March 24
Breakfast Club
What the day literally means is somewhat unimportant. The point of mock holidays like “Rex Manning Day” fromEmpire Recordsis to give fans a dedicated time to celebrate the movies and shows they hold so dear.
Empire Records
Cast
Empire Records is a 1995 coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Allan Moyle. The film centers around a group of young employees working at an independent record store, grappling with personal issues and the potential corporate takeover of their cherished workplace. The ensemble cast includes Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, and Ethan Embry, who navigate the complexities of friendship and adolescence within a single day.
