Momentary Shame While Renting Movies

So yesterday morning, I’m out and about. I’ve run to Stanley’s to pick up all my veggies for the week, and stop in to get some DVD’s at a nearby blockbuster. I dig around some, and decide that one of the movies I want to see is Spy Kids.

Now – before you get all pointy and laughy and mocky, give me a moment here. I read a strong review for this film when it first came out a few years ago, and I’ve always been somewhat interested in Robert Rodriguez. Ever I saw El Mariachi and heard about how he made the film on $7,000… I’ve been impressed.

Check out an interview he did with The Onion.

Another reason I’ve been interested in Rodriguez… one day, while shuffling through books in Bloomington, Indiana, I come across a biography on the guy. I flip through, and discover that in order to fund El Mariachi, he signed up at a local medical center and volunteered to be a test subject. For money! I also read some bits where, because he couldn’t afford a fancy camera that could track actors’ movements, he ended up sitting in a mop bucket with wheels, and had someone push him around as he filmed.

So all of this background went into my decision to see Spy Kids: the work he did in his previous films, and the fact that I heard it was a prettty tolerable for adults.

So as I go and check out my movies, the guy behind the counter tells me I should buy this "Valentine Special" thing, which is $1.99. So instead of paying the $4 for the Spy Kids rental, I’d only end up paying $2. And on top of that, the "Valentine Special" has 10 additional free rentals, so long as they are movies from the Family/Kids section.

And the way he’s telling me this… his tone, the way he’s looking at me. He just about comes out and says "We’ve also got some Barney tapes. Do you want to rent some of those too?