I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t nostalgia that led me to browse Springfield’s latest video rental store, Mr. Googorium’s Movie Emporium. And it did not disappoint. In fact, it led me down a path that has my living room feeling like the 1990s, and my husband wondering if I’ve lost my mind.
I haven’t. I’m just tired of spending more than $100 a month on endless content that somehow manages to overwhelm me in volume and underwhelm me in experience.
Remember when watching a movie meant something? Movies were rare in my young life. Watching one usually required a trip to a video rental store, and if we chose badly, there was no going back. I miss the anticipation building while mom made popcorn — popped in oil on the stove — and everyone turned down the lights. Movies would stick with me for months. I’d obsess over soundtracks, characters and storylines. When I was 14, the movie “Pearl Harbor” had me crying in bed for days. I taped up magazine posters of the dreamy pilot who died in a tragic crash, and spent months contemplating the tragedy of war and loss.
Today, I still have this expectation that movies are special. Sometimes when my niece and nephew come over, I set up our movie room with blankets and cozy lights, imagining I’ll treat them to a memorable night of movies and popcorn.
But they never ask to watch movies, because movies aren’t special to the kids anymore. They’re not even special to me anymore.
I send a “things to do” email every Sunday night to tons of moms in the Springfield, Mo. area. It’s full of free, often outdoorsy ideas that always match the season we’re in.
Mr. Googorium’s Movie Emporium started it all
Regularly, I crave the feeling of an old-fashioned movie night. I’ll make a big bowl of popcorn, sit down with my remote… and become frozen by indecision as I face row after row of show and movie titles, all of them bombarding me with autoplay trailers. Half an hour later, I haven’t chosen a movie and I’ve lost the will to watch one.
Then the owner of Bookmarx, a bookstore on Walnut Street in downtown Springfield, announced he was opening a video rental store called Mr. Googorium’s Movie Emporium in the back of their existing store. They hung classic movie posters, decorated with an old console TV encased in wood and vintage movie theatre seats. They draped red velvet on the walls.
I was sold before I stepped through the door.
For $8 a month, owner Joshua Arnett says customers can rent 6 DVDs at a time and keep them for up to two weeks. You can exchange them an unlimited number of times per month. Plus, he recently boasted on social media that he has more movies on his shelves than Netflix.
Perusing the stacks, I was happy to find a robust kids’ section with plenty of high-quality children’s films, including tons of classics. As for the rest of the selection, Arnett’s bar appears to be well-loved and well-regarded cinema. Blockbuster films, cult classics, movies based on books, and the kinds of titles that make you think, “Oh, I’ve always meant to watch that.”
I borrowed the 2024 movie “Dune: Part 1” and “8 Mile” (don’t judge me, I’ve never seen it!), along with “The Peanuts Movie,” “Stuart Little” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” for Leo.
As I was checking out, Arnett mentioned that he likes to stock movies he himself would watch.
Making meaning while saving money
I left the store so delighted that I went home and looked up all my streaming services, got out a calculator and quickly felt my belly twist. $100. I was spending $100 on streaming services.
But I wondered if it was possible to cancel them all, considering my new video rental store was 18 minutes across town. Would it really fill the Benjamin-sized hole in my monthly media budget?
Later in the week, I took Leo to the library to stock up on books. I froze when I suddenly noticed the size of their DVD collection. I was thrilled to find popular movies and TV shows on the shelves. I borrowed the 2025 film “Superman,” the “Nancy Drew” TV show and moved on to the kids section, which was equally robust. It included plenty of shows Leo’s been streaming, like “Paw Patrol,” “PJ Masks,” and “Peppa Pig.”
I was telling the librarian how I’m reverting to DVDs, and she mentioned you can stream movies and television for free through the Hoopla app. I added it to my TV when I got home, and was surprised to see plenty of free titles, plus “BingePasses” for paid services like Hallmark+, BBC, and the Great Courses.
Thifting the close the final gap
I came home with armfuls of DVD cases and dug out my old collection of a few remaining Blu-rays, only to discover I no longer owned a Blu-ray Player. So I set out to Red Racks Thrift Store to dig through their large collection of used electronics. I found one for as cheap as $12, but it didn’t have a remote, so I went with a pricier Sony model at $24.
Bonus, I found a stack of cute red-and-white theatre-style popcorn containers at the thrift store for $2!
I came home and canceled all my streaming services, then deleted the apps from my TV. And guys, movie nights are back. My family now has 12 movies and TV shows to choose from — lined up in a neat stack on my console — instead of an unlimited scroll of tiles that shout at me.
I’m reminded of a study where shoppers were more likely to buy jam when offered six choices instead of 24. It turns out we don’t crave endless options nearly as much as we think we do. We crave simplicity, clarity, and ease in decision-making.
Leave a Reply