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Health & Fitness

Redbox & Blockbuster vs. Millbrae Public Library

In a time when Netflix is doubling its rates and Redbox is the only option for local video rentals, why not explore free alternatives?

“Ahem”…sigh…cough…smack gum loudly…tap toes incessantly…impatient mumblings...

This is the frustrated sounds of you taking too long to pick out a movie that you don’t want to regret paying a buck or two for and spending your evening watching. You better hurry it up buddy, before I text everybody in my contacts about how the apocalypse is coming and I’m not even going to be able to rent a movie before the world evaporates because some fool has to read the blurb of every movie before choosing which one he’s probably just going to fall asleep in the middle of anyway. Even the machine is getting impatient…“Do you need more time to make your selection?” In this situation, you don’t want to be the person who just wants to browse movies in peace or the person waiting in line behind that person.

An empty storefront on the corner of El Camino Real and Chadbourne Avenue tells the story of the good ol’ days when one could browse videos all day if he/she wanted. In fact, that same building tells the story of the even gooder ol’ days when one could mosey on down to a movie theater right here in Millbrae. The neon sign atop the building is but a mirage of an oasis that reveals itself to be just another dried up ditch as you get closer. To add insult to injury, the ‘M’ on the sign occasionally burns out and says ‘Illbrae’, inadvertently bringing attention to the diseased state of entertainment in our town.

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This is getting depressing, so let’s shed a ray of hope. We’re probably not going to get our theater back any time soon, but would you believe me if I told you that you could still waste a day filing through hundreds, if not thousands, of movies to your heart’s content, right here in Millbrae? And for free???

Believe it. All you need is a library card. I finally got fed up with the scant selection that Redbox and Blockbuster Express had to offer (I’ve had more choices on an airplane) and sniffed out a different local stash of film, right here at the Millbrae Public Library. Speaking of libraries, Redbox and Blockbuster Express are equivalent to a library that has only one shelf that contains about 100-150 books, including a couple buzzworthy non-fiction selections, a handful of best-sellers from the past decade, forty or so forgettable paperbacks, half a dozen children’s books with brain-numbing titles and characters (think along the lines of “Air Bud 7”), and a stack of trashy romance novels. A library card to such a place would only be good for one thing - to test your shiny new paper shredder, which also shreds plastic cards.

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The card one gets from the Millbrae Library is so much more valuable. In fact, it is not only good for just the Millbrae Library, but for any public library in San Mateo County. If you haven’t heard before, the San Mateo County Library is one of the finest library systems in the country, and they have thousands of movies from which to choose. Let’s not forget this is a library though, so it’s also home to a  bajillion books, lest you ever grow weary of all those free movie rentals.

The only downside to the library is that it is not open around midnight, after you’ve had your fill of beer at Fiddler’s Green or grass jelly drink at whatever late night dessert shop you frequent, and you just want to go curl up at home on your couch and watch a movie before bed.  The library is only open until 8:00pm most days, but since movies at the library are 7-day rentals, you can stock up for the week in one trip. And if you are a day late returning them, the fee is still going to be way less than what it costs to rent from your beloved movie vending machines.

May I take this a step further and suggest that you make a one-dollar donation to the library for every movie you check out? It’s still cheaper than Redbox or Blockbuster and you will be contributing to your community. For that matter, why not donate some of your own movies to the library? You’ll still be able to watch them and improve selection that the library has to offer.

No matter what angle you look at this, supporting your local library is always going to trump renting from a machine. Next time you find yourself heading to Walgreens, Safeway, or Lucky for your film fix, just go a block over and see what the library has to offer. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, you’re more than welcome to put in a request.

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