High Fidelity (2000)

Very Cool!!!

the audience applauded

Fantastic!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Well, I don't know. The further one goes back on the IMDb 'Top 250' lists, the quality of pictures that made it seems to get weaker and weaker, and here's an example. "High Fidelity" was at #205 in the year 2000 when it first came out, dropping to #241 the following year. That it doesn't appear again since should not surprise discerning movie watchers. It's entertaining enough if stuff like this is your thing, but really, should a twelve year old that you made out with once for a total of six hours over the course of three days be on your Top Five All-Time Break Up List? By the end of the story, you'll more than realize that Rob Gordon (John Cusack) seriously needs to get a life. But by that time, you'll probably be bored to tears over his incessant barrage on the fourth wall of your viewing screen. I will say I got a kick out of Jack Black's character Barry, the snobbishly arrogant music fan who works at Rob's 'Championship Vinyl' record shop. The same with Dick (Todd Louiso), but come to think of it, do you think they collected a paycheck there? I tend to doubt it, as most of the time, it was only the three of them in the store at any given time. And this is the only time I've ever seen Lisa Bonet as an adult after all those years as Cliff Huxtable's daughter on 'The Cosby Show'. So that was a surprise, and a very good looking one too. The one thing I'll agree with though is that "Books, records, films..., these things matter", otherwise I wouldn't be posting reviews here on IMDb. But as a service to adults over say, the age of thirty, save yourself the frustration of sitting thought this picture. Chances are you lived through the angst of this story yourself already, and who needs to be reminded of all that? And if you have your own Top Five list of All-Time Break Ups, better chuck it before the wife or significant other find it, or you'll be talking to the TV yourself.

Being on the verge of yet another disastrous breakup, a record store owner starts to present his top five breakups, in an attempt to figure out what went wrong and eventually make things right.It's a very interesting movie, based on a main character who seems to have had and still have problems with the ladies. By constantly speaking to the viewers, he seems determined to bring back his historic failures or even make contact to the persons involved just to realize what went wrong. The way the main character performs and interacts with the audience has to be the best part of the movie. As the story unfolds, the dramatic but also funny life stories begin to influence his life, seeming to affect even his part at the store, but his two unique colleagues and friends will always be there for him.I have to say that the plot is very enjoyable, together with its excellent characters, very well described and played, complex and full of surprises, which manages to transmit plenty of emotion, drama but also laughter. Boredom is out of the question, although the action seems to be on the lower side, having plenty of substance to keep you attracted to what's going on. The finale is very satisfying, making the whole story worthwhile.To sum things up, it's a very good movie, full of great characters and actors which, through a great plot and way of communication, manages to provide a quality time for its viewers. It's not a masterpiece but a wonderful movie without any doubt.

Rob Gordon is stuck in middle-age purgatory, constantly flitting from relationship to relationship when asked to take an step forward and grow. Like Woody Allen's characters in his great romantic comedies, who couldn't help from making a joke of all but the gravest of situations, he segments and designates his life by his love of music. He and his two friends share this talent of musical elitism and snobbery; they spend all day berating the poor taste of their customers, they immediately try to define any real life scenario with the best song to fit, and then every now and again they even sell a record. But Stephen Frears isn't just playing the bad guy; Rob's passion for music, however snobbish, is authentic, and Frears finds a way to elicit not only humour out of it, but eventually good. They want to broaden the tastes of the wider public, and Cusack is so confident in his love for The Beta Band and their ability to turn heads and ears. When two youthful thieves run off with a bunch of records, they furiously give chase, before the confrontation turns into a hilarious argument about the poor taste of their stolen records. Frears plays this straight, making it funnier, but also seeding the roots of Rob's passion and eventual discovery of the pair's talent. Naturally, he wants to help foster and let others hear it too. Cusack is the perfect choice. He is a product of his early career, the teen movies, and he brings this experience and baggage into his portrayal of Rob. Much of the exposition has him talking and facing the camera, narrating his own story, as if he was one of those directors or writers who make themselves the main and best character. So the frames close in on his story, the backgrounds vanish, and Cusack motions and pours out his life story for the audience. His voice-over is angry, volatile, unable to consider any perspective other than his own, and has self-depreciating quality that swiftly sheds himself of any blame. Perplexed, he beings a journey of diving back into his past to discover exactly the reason for his failed relationships. When he meets an ex who is similarly despondent, he recognises the same signs of "sad, single person culture", but has no empathy. He is too high and mighty for that. The best scenes of the film come from his back and forth with his most recent ex-girlfriend Laura, who has finally had enough and packed the bags. This is where Rob is at his most self-righteous, most unaware. The messy breakup process is very clearly painful for her to, but Rob is only concerned with himself, so he sabotages each encounter with her with crass, unimportant queries. He feels entitled to have a say in the negotiation of this period, so he assaults her with a barrage of requests and phone-calls, and because she is much nicer and more mature than him, she plays along. Rob seems to have picked out the score for the film himself; when it seems certain that they will not get back together, it croons with Velvet Underground. And in a moment which completely illustrates his lack of sensitivity and maturity, he jumps for joy to Queen's We Are the Champions, just because Laura has not yet consummated her next relationship. Very funny, and very sad indeed. But of course they do eventually, and Rob, whose short-sightedness prevented him from seeing so, descends back into the mopey, 'the whole world is against me routine'. He calls her in the night, soaking in the rain and holding back tears, blubbering and trying to win her back. This act is so perfectly reminiscent of Cusack's iconic moment in Say Anything, holding the stereo aloft all night. The connection works because Cusack is no longer a teenager, but still held ransom by these teenage swings of emotion, so heart-wrenching he can barely function. What prevents High Fidelity from being a great film is how it momentarily slips up into soppy, conventional romantic comedy territory. Much of the film is ruthless in its dissection of Rob's faults, but it all falls into place like a typical romance does when he and Laura get back together. Laura is barely a character here; she simply flops over for him, conveniently sweeping Ian aside to reward an undeserving Rob with sex. It so clearly feels like one of his 'cool' fantasies that I was begging for the scene to rewind. Instead the film acts like a broken record, skipping ahead of the implied complications to that sweet-toothed ending. It isn't a bad ending; there is nothing wrong with expecting Rob to pick up the pieces of his life and finally move forward in his relationship. But it does seem like a bit of a let off.

Now this one was a tough call. Everyone knows how much I love movies with LOVE and HEARTBREAK, but this sort of took me by surprise, and NOT really in a good way. I watched this film first when I was nine, when my dad took me to see it. I probably didn't understand a word and was confused why the main character is hurt so much by a girl.. // What I do remember pondering was how Jack Black was the BEST! and how much I felt bad for the character, Dick (Todd Louiso), who takes so much shyt from him. Viewing it now, as a film student and somewhat a critic, I think he is the best part of the movie. No Joke! We all have those people in our life that make us feel a little awkward and just ask too many god-damn questions. I think he changes the most throughout the film, too. In fact, our main protagonist, Rob (played by John Cusack), does not change at all. That is why I am not being too reviewer-friendly with this entry.The thing is: I am a realist (sort of). I like movies to speak to me; give me some answers to the things that I should already know that I have not fully grasped yet. That, and the fact that I want to relate with something. But this story let me down towards the end. - I swear, that rarely happens.****Seriously, though! It is a universal understanding that "once a cheater, always a cheater", and I do not take it lightly when someone ends up with the wrong person in the end. I wish it finished more truthfully; BETTER CLOSURE FOR THE BROKEN HEARTED. Not the old 90s ending where everything is okay, because it is not. Especially, for the viewer who, chances are, is alone and wonders why they cannot connect with anyone. I can go on forever, ranting about how I was let down in the climax of this film, but I do not want to bore you - and frankly, I do not want to write negatively about any project. **Maybe in ten more years, when I am a completely different person than I am now, I might enjoy the corniness, but as of right now - Too cliché (ONLY IN THE END, THOUGH).I rate this film a 6 out of 10. It honestly hurts me to do this, because I WANTED to like it. Really, I did! I WANTED it to be good, and a ahead of its time. In the end, I think it was nothing but an afternoons delight. — Heart-on!— Michael Mendez