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I know, I know. Rex Manning Day is usually later in the year but I couldn't stop myself from celebrating early. For Christmas, one of my presents was Empire Records on Blu-ray. I tried to stop myself from watching right away but then a friend of mine mentioned that he had selected a Maxwell Caulfield film to live tweet later tonight and that's all it took for me to declare today to be Rex Manning Day!
Most people think of Rex as being the bad guy in Empire Records but I see him as being more of a tragic figure. He knows that his career is no longer what it once was. As he tried to explain to Berko in a scene that was deleted from the film, stardom is fleeting and you better enjoy it while you can. In the original version of the film, Rex got a bit of redemption when he joined Rex and Gina in performing Sugar High atop Empire Records. Again, that scene was sadly cut. But, no matter! Deep down, we all know that Rex was secretly saying, "Damn the man!" through the whole movie.
