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High Fidelity Customer Reviews (46 - 48 of 81 Reviews)

Top 5 Reasons to avoid this movie
High Fidelity is another John Cusack romantic comedy. Cusack plays an underachieving record store owner who tries to figure out why he has just been dumped by his girlfriend. Cusack gives an uninspiring performance which is surprising since he has played this character in at least four other movies. Cusack walks through the performance providing very little character depth or any type of emotion. However, Cusack is only one of the problems with this movie. The supporting cast mails in their performance much like Cusack does including the usually funny Tim Robbins. The plot is very thin and the script is just not funny. In fact the movie is just plain boring. Missing from this bad "romantic comedy" are romance, humour and Meg Ryan. The soundtrack is nothing to write home about either which is strange since the characters in the movie pride themselves on their musical tastes. High Fidelity is just another example that the year 2000 will be remembered as one of the worst movie years in history.

A tribute to man's failings!
I approached this movie with a certain trepedation. As a great fan of the Nick Hornby novel, I was somewhat concerned about the Americanisation of the novel.

How could I ever have doubted John Cusack and co!! The point is made well by Stephen Frears in his interview; moving the movie to Chicargo highlights the fact that its themes are universal.

We are taken inside the mind of Rob(John Cusack), a thirtysomething record store owner, undergoing a mini mid-life crisis. His girlfriend has left him for the new-age hippie neighbour (Tim Robbins). In an effort to understand why this has happened he takes the advice of "The Boss" and contacts his "all-time top five break-ups" to try to determine why they broke up with him.

Rob is not the perfect hero and his flaws are clearly shown to us. It is this which allows the viewer to identify with Rob in a way which certainly I have done with very few movie characters. He's a good guy who does stupid things, hurts the people he loves, acts selfishly but is ultimately likeable.

Rob's journey of self discovery is always anchored by his obsession with music and this music gives us a further insight into the mind of the main character.

Special mention must be made of the deleted scenes on the DVD version. A couple of these are particularly fine and would have added to the narrative. I can only think that there was a particularly vicious editing process to cut ten minutes off the running time.

The cast is truely outstanding, a real ensemble piece with particularly fine performances from Jack Black and Todd Luiso as Rob's stereotypical record shop snob employees ("I can't fire them. I hired them three days a week but they starting coming every day. That was three years ago!) Some of the scenes in the music shop are painfully funny.

But ultimatly it's Cusacks movie. He truly is one of the most talented actors in mainstream cinema today.

Besides any movie that can namecheck Belle & Sebastian and The Beta Band and features a cameo from Bruce Springsteen deserves an extra star!

One Of My Top 5 Best Movies:
High Fidelity: rated R, 1 hour and 47 minutes

High Fidelity is hilariously funny! There is no debating this. The script is wittily devised so as to throw in scenes of candid drama and seriousness, intermingled with scenes of ingenious humor. Throughout the history of films, this task of creating a movie with an intelligent, serious plot, as well as terrific comedic prospects has been a tremendous risk. Few films have actually succeeded. High Fidelity has overcome this arduous challenge and succeeded with flying colors thanks to a stylish soundtrack, fresh ideas, sharp dialogue, and marvelous acting.
John Cusack is Rob Gordon, the pathetic, yet somehow very cool owner of a record store. His greatest passion is music and he obsessively creates his Top 5 lists for best rock album, best track one song on a record, best songs to play at a funeral, etc. Donning a black leather jacket and sunglasses, Rob is both hip and stylish, as well as down and out and washed up. He has had too many relationships that have ended in misery. As his current girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), dumps him, Rob sets out on a crusade to determine why every relationship he becomes involved in goes bad. We learn a great deal about Rob. We also learn about his two "friends"(if that is what you choose to call them), Dick and Barry, as well as about his five most memorable break-ups. His life is dismal because of his inability to establish a lasting relationship, but from the viewer's perspective, it is so sad that we have to laugh. We laugh at his attitude towards women, his attitude towards life, his experiences, and all of his idiosyncrasies. On Rob's "what does it all mean" journey, he stumbles across some uproarious mishaps, and learns some valuable lessons.
The filming of the movie is flawless. The various camera angles, editing, voice-overs, and settings are perfect for the mood and overall presentation. The story by Nick Hornby is unique and sophisticated. The characters are well developed, each with his/her own eccentricities. And the dialogue is superb. Each line that the narrator (Cusack as Rob) utters is crisp and heartfelt. Each line that, Barry (Jack Black of the offbeat, talented and funny rock band Tenacious D), pronounces, on the other hand, is idiotic, snappish, and hysterical.
By far, the greatest, most hilarious scene of the movie takes place in Rob's record store after he finds out that his most recent flame, Laura, has been seeing the Zen, yoga, martial arts, spiritual creep who has been living in the apartment above Rob. He earlier describes this man, Ian, by saying "I didn't like him much then, I @^#$*% hate him now!" Rob finally comes face to face with the dreaded Ian when Ian attempts to settle things peacefully with him once and for all so that he stops pointlessly chasing after Laura. "Conflict resolution is my job," he says in justifying his visit. When Rob is confronted, he cannot hold back, or at least not mentally. He unleashes an onslaught of brutality on Ian, which cannot and should not be described in words. It must be seen. One of the film's secret weapons is a highly respected actor who has achieved success in Hollywood largely as a serious dramatic actor, playing the role of Ian, who for our purposes will go unnamed.
In any case, High Fidelity is filled with such beautifully funny high jinks and sheer brilliance that it is hard not to enjoy it. Look out for breakout performances by Todd Louiso, and most notably, Jack Black.

Directed by Stephen Frears, also starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Lili Taylor, Sara Gilbert, and Lisa Bonet, I would highly recommend that just about anyone see High Fidelity for its valuable insights and outstanding sense of humor A+.

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