A Bad Movie Can Stay With
You Forever — Or 14 Years
Many people have failed to return a movie rental in their lifetime, especially in the extinct era before Netflix. And the police probably didn’t come knocking on their door with a search warrant.
However, for a North Carolina man, James Meyers Jr., the shared experience of the unreturned video rental had a much more dramatic plot twist.
When an officer from the Concord Police Department pulled Meyers over for a broken brake light and asked him to step out of his car, he was shocked to learn there was a warrant for his arrest. The crime: failing to return a “Freddy Got Fingered” VHS tape he rented in 2002 (14 years).
With the local video store, J&J’s Video, no longer in business and the prosecutor having to show Meyers deliberately held on to the tape for 14 years, the case might prove difficult to prosecute. Nevertheless, Meyers may want to hire a good film critic to defend him in court. They’d make the strongest argument that no one would intentionally hold on to a VHS copy of “Freddy Got Fingered.”
Critics dubbed it one of the worst films ever made, including the late Roger Ebert, who labeled the movie a “vomitorium,” awarding it a zero-star review.
Still, Meyers will face a judge on the misdemeanor charge and could end up with a criminal record over this epic video-return fail. What some may find more disturbing than a court wasting taxpayers’ dollars on a fool’s errand is Meyers watched the movie again and gave it “two thumbs up.” “I thought it was great. It was hilarious and I was laughing all the time,” he said.
Let’s hope more serious charges are not brought against him for having bad taste in movies.
