Token Taverns

Summary

When I am not reviewing films, my actual job is in the restaurant industry. I own some restaurants with my dad and brother. Because of my years of experience in that industry, I was excited to check out the documentary Token Taverns which attempts to explore the trend of “barcades” – essentially bars which feature numerous arcade games and pinball machines. My brother and I had recently visited a barcade in Northwest Arkansas called Pinpoint which focused specifically on pinball machines, and I was curious about how these concepts worked. While the initial aim of the documentary was to focus on the trend itself, the filmmakers began filming in 2020 and their plans, like all of our plans, changed. They ended up documenting the numerous struggles of the bar owners as they faced the numerous government mandated shutdowns and other hard tasks that were specific to that extraordinarily difficult time. Because my family faced the same issues, I was definitely interested in the documentary. The film was crowdfunded on Kickstarter and was made independently by Bob Rose with the assistance of his wife Margaret. It is pretty clear that the film was a passion project. 

Token Taverns begins in February 2020. It focuses on four bars in Florida. Mike Burke owns Vector in Clearwater, Florida. Vector’s focus is on beer nerds and pinball nerds. It is typically manned by a single employee. The bar occasionally does fight nights where people play fighting games in a tournament. They also occasionally host wrestling matches on the bar‘s patio. Glitch Bar is owned by Dwight Slamp in Fort Lauderdale. The bar is strictly for ages 21 and up. One unique aspect is that the bar features indie games (arcade games that are designed by independent creators.) Their arcade is on free play and they make their money strictly off of alcohol sales. The iconic Pac Man player Billy Mitchell has also done some perfect Pac Man scores in person there. In Dunedin, Florida, Reboot Arcade and Bar is owned by George Courtney and his supporting wife Helen. Their bar has a unique element where games can be shown on the TVs at the bar while customers elsewhere are playing them. Lowry Parcade in Clearwater is owned by Robert Leonard. Lowry Parcade is very focused on the local craft beer in its area, even collaborating with some of the local breweries to make their own beers. After introducing these bars to the viewers and exploring the arcade industry in general, the film shifts gears to focus on the numerous struggles the bar owners faced to try to keep their businesses afloat in the face of the global pandemic. As one might expect, not all of the bars made it through the struggles of that time.

Documentary films are only as interesting as the subject that they focus on. Token Taverns’s area of focus piqued my interest and I was happy to focus my attention on the film. There are some good takeaways from the film. For example, I learned that pinball is not dead, in fact, its audience is growing every year. Another aspect I enjoyed from the film was when the film showed how the owner of Vector was forced to fix the pinball machines as they broke down regularly. I did not know how big of an issue that was with owning pinball machines. This was a real barrier to entry for the business of which I was unaware. Basically, if you want to have numerous pinball machines at your establishment, it is helpful to be mechanically inclined enough to be able to fix the machines when they break down.

Token Taverns has a bit of a pacing issue. In the first thirty minutes of the movie customer interviews run longer than they should have by a good amount. When 2020’s pandemic kicks in, the movie gets extremely interesting as everyone pivots to save their businesses during 2020. I am not going to say that the movie is completely successful, but I became totally engaged as the barcade owners did whatever they could to open up during government shutdowns. Unfortunately, the film slows down again in its final third which also could have used some judicious trimming. My takeaway on the film would be that, while the filmmaking itself is a little shaky, the struggle that it documents is really inspiring, especially for those of us who navigated this crisis. Token Taverns documents the 2020 struggle for bars better than anything else I have seen so far. So, while the movie is rough around the edges, I am glad that it exists. The music in the film is also pretty enjoyable. If this film had been edited down to a strong eighty minutes it  have been an easy recommendation, but as it stands I would still recommend checking it out if you are interested in the subject matter. What the film lacks in finesse it makes up for in passion for the people and bars it focuses on.

Video

Token Taverns arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indie Rights encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer. This disc is made on demand. The movie was shot on digital cameras and looks very similar to what someone might see on a Travel Channel or HGTV television series. That is not a slight on the film, I am just trying to explain how the film looks visually. Director Bob Rose does a solid job of setting the scene with numerous shots of the bar settings being enjoyed by patrons. The Blu-ray has no difficulty replicating what audiences experienced seeing the film theatrically. 

Audio

Token Taverns is presented with a DTS HD-MA 5.1 track. Given that the film is a documentary, dialogue is the most important aspect to the track and it is rendered well. I really enjoyed the retrowave synth and electronic music played in the soundtrack for the film. It was a perfect compliment to the subject matter.

Supplements:

• Token Taverns Roadshow – A Summer Movie Tour Across the Country
• Commentary with Director Bob Rose and Retro Ralph
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 3.5/5

Token Taverns is a bit rough around the edges in terms of pacing. I think that overall, the film rises above those issues because it is obvious that filmmaker Bob Rose (with the support of his wife Margaret) has a lot of passion for the subjects of his documentary. I have not seen any films that have better captured the struggles that bars faced during the pandemic. If more judicious editing had occurred the film would be a really easy recommendation. The MOD Blu-ray presents the film well enough. As it stands, if you are interested in the subject matter I think you will enjoy the film.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.