Details
Movie Description
A male-perspective confessional about being an adult--but not acting like one--HIGH FIDELITY is the story of Rob Gordon (John Cusack), the thirtysomething owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in the suburbs of Chicago. Rob is in the throes of a difficult breakup with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), and he creates a list of the ex-girlfriends who qualify as his Top Five Worst Breakups, then tracks them down one by one. At work, Rob's relationship with the geeky guys who help run the store, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), is hilarious and juvenile: The three espouse encyclopedic knowledge of records while making lists of everything from the Top Five Side 1s and Track 1s to the Top Five Songs About Death. Director Stephen Frears works from a script based on the 1996 Nick Hornby novel of the same title, adapted by D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, Cusack, and Scott Rosenberg. Frears integrates Cusack's signature goofball antics and gives him a series of talk-to-the-camera, Ferris Bueller-style monologues that Cusack delivers with personal ingenuity.
Synopsis
Nick Hornby's popular novel makes the shift from London to Chicago in this Hollywood adaptation from the writing team responsible for GROSSE POINT BLANK. John Cusack stars as Rob, a thirtysomething record store owner who searches for the answer to the seemingly impossible question: Does he listen to pop music because he feels miserable, or is the music the cause of his misery? As he humorously deals with his store's pathetic employees (Jack Black and Todd Louiso), he embarks on a mission to track down his Top Five Worst Breakups to discover where things went wrong between himself and his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle). Given director Stephen Frears's sure hand and Cusack's strong lead performance, HIGH FIDELITY is a funny and compelling look at growing up and falling in love.
Industry Reviews
"...HIGH FIDELITY is a solid, entertaining, and often very funny piece of work..."
Premiere - p.22 - Glenn Kenny (05/01/2000)
"...A trenchantly witty and acutely insightful script....[John Cusack gives a] fresh, fearless and ferociously funny lead performance..."
Variety - p.26-33 - Joe Leydon (03/20/2000)
"...Fueled by high-octane writing and wickedly comic performances..."
Movieline - p.90 - Michael Atkinson (09/01/2000)
"...Cool....Funny and insightful..." -- 4 out of 5 stars
Total Film - p.88 - Alan Morrison (08/01/2000)
"...[A] witty, exquisitely fine-tuned adaptation of Nick Hornby's 1995 novel....The movie is sparked by more than half a dozen incisive performances..."
New York Times - p.E15 - Stephen Holden (03/31/2000)
"...A ruthlessly truthful and deviously smart comedy....Black's hilariously vitriolic rock snob Barry is especially impressive -- a long overdue breakthrough role for a very deserving talent..."
Box Office - p.67 - Wade Major (05/01/2000)
"...HIGH FIDELITY is a sharp and satisfying romantic comedy about the difficulty of commitment....The film's music is expertly chosen..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (03/31/2000)
"...[A] superb adaptation....With wit and attention to record-geek trivia intact..."
Rolling Stone - Rolling Stone Staff (11/27/2003)
Quotations
"Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable? Or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?"--Rob (John Cusack), in voice-over
"We're no longer called Sonic Death Monkey. We're on the verge of becoming Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but just for tonight, we are Barry Jive and His Uptown Five."--Barry (Jack Black), introducing his band
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