Suncoast Motion Picture Company on the Big Screen

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I have mentioned both here and on the podcast that I worked at Suncoast Motion Picture Company for many years. Not to brag, but I was Employee of the Month countless times, and I have pins to prove it.

When I would mention Suncoast to people, they didn’t always know what I was talking about. Suncoast had lots of locations in malls across North America and the company existed during the boom in video sales, but still a good portion of people I knew at the time, and now, have never heard of it.

Even though it had some diehard fans, unlike video rental stores like Blockbuster, Suncoast didn’t leave the same impressions on popular culture. In fact, I assumed it was completely overlooked until around 2013. That is when I finally saw a move that had been released two years, earlier in theaters, Take Me Home Tonight.

The film, which had a long path from production to release is set in the 1980s and starts Topher Grace. Topher plays a character who despite having a degree from a prestigious school, isn’t sure what to do with his life. So he gets a job at the mall working at Suncoast. There he re-encounters his high school crush and his life take some interesting turns.

It was really fun to see them capture Suncoast on film and they did a solid job with the art direction. It had differences from the store I worked at, but it really does look like a Suncoast. Unfortunately the Suncoast scenes are short and are all at the start. They help to explain the character, but once that is done, we never return to the store. Since Suncoast is so infrequently filmed or photographed during this era, its nice to see it even as a recreation two decades later.

The scenes aren’t posted online, but shots of the store figure into the trailer prominently.

The glossy black walls, the red neon, it all takes me right back.

(If you have retro finds you would like for me to share, I want to hear them. What old useful website are still lurking on the web? Some old TV show streaming online? Old tech being brought back? Let me know.)

ONE COOL VIDEO

A few videos have been posted online of real Suncoast stores. My favorite is this one from 1995 that captures the last day before an in-mall move at the store in Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota. It’s a real treat to see and hear the employees talking and glimpse the silliness and camaraderie. It felt very similar to the location where I worked.

TEN THINGS RETRO

🎲 Board Games – Monopoly is 90 years old and isn’t lacking for spinoffs and variations. Now Hasbro is taking the game in a new modern strategic direction with a new packaging and plans for multiple expansions.

💿 Physical Media – I have not given up on physical media and I am not alone. Still, the ticking timebomb under this revival of physical media may be that good players are becoming scarce.

🍔 Collecting – Some of the best stuff on the internet is being posted on social media. One of my favorite accounts to follow is Consumer Time Capsule. They have an amazing vintage McDonald’s collection filled with things I have never seen before. Follow on X and Bluesky.

📺 Television – One of the more unusual recurring bits on the tv show, The A-Team, was how the character of B.A. Baracus needed to be drugged into order to fly. It was played for big laughs on the show and it was something you could count on whenever the team was going to be traveling. For those not familiar, here is a video demonstrating how they tricked B.A. eight times on the show.

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📱 Mobile Phones – Do you miss the feel and design of eighties technology? If you have a 3D printer, you could recapture some of the magic of the era with this printable retro case for your iPhone. According to its creator, they wanted to “create a case that transforms the latest technology into a vaporware technology device.”

🎄 Christmas – While remodeling his parent’s home, Tim King found a 46 year old wrapped Christmas present addressed to him hidden in the wall. The present was bought in the fall of 1978, when he was just six years old.

📺 Technology – In 1968, Sony unveiled a 100-Inch Color Video Panel. Made from 78,000 small lights with red, green and blue filters, it was remarkably small, and well ahead of its time. It was never released as a commercial product, but it gave everyone who saw it a glimpse of the future.

🚚 Toys – When Chevron announced it was going to merge with Hess, it was a big deal. But Hess had something more important to say when they reassured us stating that they, “…want to assure all of you that the Hess Toy Truck, a long-standing, cherished tradition, will continue on for future years!”

📺 Television – The cult TV show, Liquid Television, which ran from 1991 to 1996, and launched shows like Beavis and Butt-Head and Æon Flux, is now available to download at the Internet Archive.

🎉 Public Domain – Do you celebrate Public Domain day? You should, because in 2025 a whole bunch of great stuff has entered the Public Domain.

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FEATURED RETRO COUPON

No expiration date on this Pac-Man Cereal Coupon. Unfortunately they stopped making it a long time ago. I had Pac-Man fever for years after the game peaked in popularity and loved this cereal. I was sad to see it go.