High Fidelity

John Cusac and Jack Black make a good combo in this movie about relationships and music.

Hi Fidelity is one of the many movies that comes highly recommended and fails to deliver. In keeping with the spirit of it, however, let me present The Top Five reasons that Hi Fidelity is an average movie: 1. John Cusack. He is an actor I'm not sold on by any means despite having seen many of his films. Herein he does his Woody Allen best to talk to the audience about his failed relationships. I don't know what it is about Cusack specifically, maybe it's his weasely look, maybe it's the lack of charisma that some actors have and that others don't, or maybe it's the fact that all the smoking, hunched over slacker posing, and Intro to Drama mannerisms he employs fail to convince me that he is capable of carrying a film, especially as an adult. For comparative purposes, Jack Black steals every scene he is in, as does Catherine Zeta-Jones. 2. The film fails to deliver on either the romantic or comedic level, the two genres it's targeted towards. Not ever funny enough (save the fantasy... Read more

Personally I think this is John Cusack at his best since "Say Anything". It is the ultimate break-up/relationship movie for men (and some women). It's very no-nonsense, comical & entertaining guide at how we love and sometimes lose the ones we care about the most. A++++++ Must view; however the book is even better.

Rob Gordon (John Cusack) didn't exactly become what he wanted. He owns a vintage vinyl record shop and works it with a pair of oddball salespeople who are possibly more disenfranchised than he. His top career choice would have been writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, but there were four others as well. Now, his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) is moving out of their apartment. She was five on his Top Five list of most devastating breakups. Rob believes girls 1-4 somehow set him up for failure for this relationship. So, he contacts the ones who got away to find out why. It took me a while to warm up to character, story, etc, but my husband got it. This may be the male equivalent of the chick flick. Guy flick? Fellow film? For some reason, none of them have the same ring. While I didn't quite get the film, I'd highly recommend the soundtrack. Great tunes! Rebecca Kyle, December 2008

that was a comedy....

A fun movie, full of good actors enjoying themselves. John is at the tipping point, when I thought he was nicely matured but still hot, Iben Hjejle captures the spirit of Laura well, as per the book. This was the first time I met Jack Black, and I knew I was in like. Tim Robbin's cameo cracks me up, as the Steven Segal styled creepy hippy sex machine Ian/Ray. My favourite (ok one of them) scene in the film is when Ian visits the shop and Rob fantasises about doing him over, complete with tooth extracting phone action and the use of television as an assault weapon. And I love how Joan rides sidecar in yet another film with her bro. Book is better, but Cusack et al have managed to nicely capture the spirit of the thing while adapting it to an American (versus British in the literary version) sensability. Says something about a certain breed of commitment-phobic guy: so painfully self-aware that the dazzling brightness of his self-interest blinds him to the opportunities of the world outs... Read more

2000 brought us High Fidelity, the movie adaptation of the popular book by Nick Hornby of the same title. The tale of Rob Gordon(John Cusak) a socially awkward, music elitist who owns a small vinyl record store. When his live-in girlfriend Laura(Iben Hjejle) leaves him, Rob begins to further to wallow in his own sadness by relieving his top five heartbreaks and rejections. From his first junior high girlfriend of three days to the woman who can never be single but left him for a better option, Rob is set on deciphering exactly what it is about him that always leaves him rejected. Perhaps a slow and boring plot to some, High Fidelity is carried if nothing more, by the brilliance and pathetic portrayal of Cusak. The way this man can ramble, list and explain must be an art! Not to mention a brilliant soundtrack boasting hits by The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, and Stereolab; they all fit the tales of Rob Gordon's past rejections perfectly. "It would be nice to think that ... Read more

I love Cusak, and it takes place in Detroit - how could it go wrong? Smart comedy.

love john cusack

I'm a John Cusack Fan!!

it felt like I was watching my own life

I like John Cusack...not his movie

"High Fidelity" is on my top-five all-time desert island movie list. After watching it for the millionth time, I came across two errors. First, at the beginning of the movie (Chapter 2), Laura leaves, Rob slams the door, and then tells us his top-five break-ups in chronological order, as follows: Alison Ashmore, Penny Hardwick, Jackie Alden, Charlie Nicholson, and Sarah Kendrew. Charlie Nicholson was actually number three, and Jackie Alden number four. (Rob's relationship with Jackie, you will recall, was a direct result of his entanglement with Charlie.) This error is corrected in Chapter four, when Rob correctly states that Charlie is number three. The second miscue occurs in Chapter 10. This is the scene where Rob is cowering under his covers, imagining Laura having sex with Ian. Rob then turns to us and says that Jackie Alden was number five on his all-time list, that his affair with Ms. Alden had no effect on his life, and that he was glad it ended. Thus, by Chapter 10... Read more

tehea

good but too whiny

I'm a dork when it comes to this movie. I love it!

ah, john cusack. gotta love him.

Genius! Jack Black and John Cusack are brilliant in this movie.

Did'nt see this one either.

love John Cusack most of the time, not one of his best

John Cusack and a record store..What else do you need

again haven't seen it

Haven't seen the movie before.

just an all around well done movie, plus i love john cusack!

It was a good movie but intellectually you need to have heard ever song in the universe to really get it lol

I really, really enjoyed this movie, but once again, I'm not sure I'd classify it as a comedy in the same way I'd classify many of these other movies as comedies. A really, really good movie nonetheless.

Why, oh why, did they set this in America? It doesn't make sense and it takes away the whole spirit of the book. But it's amusing enough and John Cusack holds the film up.

incredible witty and wonderful. even more a joy if you know these types b/c then it becomes dead on parody. a well-written adaption. i was worried b/c i enjoyed the Hornby novel(back when he was still writing amusing novels), but the film translated perfectly for the american audience and Cusack handled Rob Gordon with comedic grace.

John Cusack was in almost every scene. Therefore, I hated it. I think he's probably a nice guy, but definitely overrated. Successful only because other stars are in his movies.

Rob and the musical morons are very funny. Well scripted, brilliant performance by Cusack, and a good soundtrack. Clever and witty.

Very, very, funny. I thought it would suck because the novel tool place in England but the film took place in Chicago (?!) but Cusak is just damn funny. Jack Black is hysterical as the uber-cool know-it-all music store nerd. Great music and laughs. Get a look at Tim Robbins as the hippie conflict-resolution specialist. . .

This movie just wasn't that good. It was a long, boring story about a guy that has trouble finding the right woman.

not that bad

One of the best comedies I've ever seen. It's refreshing to see a movie that doesn't try so hard to be funny. Has a great view and insights about relationships too.

I love John Cusack but this movie simply isn't funny. Despite the fantasy about attacking the boyfriend, nothing really laugh out loud funny happens the whole time. Sorry John but even you can have a bad film.

Black is phenominal here. But Cusack, hell I thought he was starring in the movie of my life for a while (I not the total @#$%! he is by the 3/4 way through mark.) In my all time top 5 for sure.

The first time I saw the trailer I thought to myself: What is this? The second time I saw it, I sighed. The third time, I became interested in going to see it. And the fourth time, I was convinced. Unfortunately, I never did go. Instead I did the second best thing, I bought the book. I read it and then bought the video. I didn't mind the change of cities much. Something that did bother me remotely was the fact that his Laura was blonde (in the book she was a brunette) and that Charlie was a brunette (in the book she was a blonde). Other than that I loved it! Especially the parts in the video store and his burst out towards Laura's new boyfriend. Like I mentioned earlier they had changed a lot of things (~slight spoilers coming up~) for an example one of the girlfriends on his breakup list, that he didn't visit his parents and that he didn't meet the couple with horrible music taste. Those were some of the most enjoyable moments in the book for me. But Cusack (both of them) were brillia... Read more

I really have no idea why, but for some reason i really liked this movie. I think i knew i would like it since the beginning line "I would listen to pop music when i was depressed(or something like that). Or was I depressed because I listened to pop music?"

Yeah..ok. This movie was...bad. It's the only word to describe it. I nearly fell asleep half way through it. THe plot gets pretty boring after a while..

I loved this-offbeat and interesting

John Cusack is amazing in this film. He has matured as an actor and I believe this is his best film. Great fictional film that tells non-fictional things about girls and experiences that happen in reality.

I struggled a little bit deciding whether to give this movie a 3 or a 4. It had its funny and memorable moments and all of the talk about top 5 lists may make its way into my life and conversations with my friends. And, it had a great cameo by Bruce Springsteen which alone could have gotten this movie a 5 in my book. However, there were far too many moments that I found myself wishing the movie was over. In addition, I never really cared about any of the characters. Sure, there were some good performances, particularly Cusack's co-workers at the store, but all in all you be better off spending your 4 dollars elsewhere when you go to the video store.

I thought it High Fidelity was a really entertaining movie. I really enjoyed the story. John Cusak was great (but then again, I have had a crush on him since Say Anything). It showed insight to the fact that guys can have feelings. It was refreshing to see relationship stories from the male perspective.

This was an interesting and funny movie about relationships. Most guys can relate to the main character. It would have been more interesting to me personally if I knew what songs they were talking about. I liked how the story was told, especially the recollection parts.

This movie is so classic. John Cusack is great in it and his staff at the record store is really funny. It is a great "slice of life," movie!

This is definitely a guy movie. Every guy I know absolutely loved it, while I thought it was good, but not great. John Cusack is a good actor, and the movie has some funny moments.