High Fidelity - 2000
Rating - 15
Director - Stephen Frears
Written by - D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack & Scott Rosenberg
Based on the book by - Nick Hornby
Starring - John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Todd Louiso
Run time - 115 minutes
High Fidelity is a 2000 romantic comedy-drama, based on Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel of the same name. The movie is co-written and stars John Cusack as thirty-something year old record store owner Rob Gordon, as he recounts his top five worst breakups while dealing with the pain of his ongoing one. He owns a record store called Championship Vinyl in Chicago which he works at with fellow music snobs, hyperactive loudmouth Barry (Jack Black) and quiet nerd Dick (Todd Louiso). Throughout the movie, Rob tries to reconnect with his old flames which makes him realise how self-absorbed and jerkish he has been all these years and tries to change his ways in an attempt to win back his ex Laura (Iben Hjejle).
High Fidelity’s supporting cast include Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lisa Bonet and a cameo from Bruce Springsteen. Jack Black’s first big role was in this film and has called it breakout role into Hollywood. The movie is co-written by Steve Pink who’d John Cusack previously worked with on 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank and later work with on 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. Nick Hornby, who wrote the original novel, commented on how surprised he was that the adaptation was so faithful to the source material. Apparently for the movie, the screenwriters listened to over 2000 songs and picked 70 song cues to fit in the actual movie.
The movie received great reviews upon release, making a total of $47.1 million in profits worldwide. The film has left a lasting legacy on cinema, featuring on Empire’s top 500 movies of all time list, Chicago Magazine’s #1 movie set in Chicago and spawned a musical based on it. News of a High Fidelity remake being in the works (originally for Disney+) originated in 2018, which led to much speculation and disapproval from many fans and some of the original cast. The film was eventually remade into a TV series on the streaming service Hulu in 2020 starring Zöe Kravitz as a gender-flipped version of Rob. Kravitz is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, who appeared in the original movie. The series gained good reviews but was cancelled after one season.
I really like this movie, it’s nicely paced, witty and funny while being heartbreaking at the same time. It has a fantastic varied cast and many music references and opinions for fellow music snobs to talk about. John Cusack’s portrayal of Rob is fantastic and he manages to seamlessly communicate the story through breaking the fourth wall. The film is notably realistic and shows the grit and pain of a breakup many Rom-coms fail to deliver. This film is greatly enjoyable and I’d highly recommend it.
Score - 9/10
High Fidelity is currently available to stream on Disney+
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