High Fidelity (Widescreen)

Low on plot and high on self-discovery, High Fidelity takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in Say Anything (who was told "Don't be a guy--be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's brand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost-nonstop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons), High Fidelity features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer-songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. --Mark Englehart

Additional Features
Includes previously deleted scenes.

But actually their hyper-critical views are pretty close to the mark. It's great to hear someone else noticing and lamenting the 1980s decline of Stevie Wonder, for example. One might criticise author Hornby for selecting Rob's dream job as record producer in the punk era (1976-79) when he could have chosen, say, late 1960s Beach Boys / Beatles psychedelia. But you can never find someone with the identical taste as your own. Strangely, the music is not particularly central to this movie, in the sense that it probably generated fewer album sales for featured artists like Marvin Gaye than say 'The Big Chill'.

The structure of the movie takes a little getting used to. The first time you see it can be a disappointment -- there's no upbeat climactic ending, unless you count the improbable, rather obviously tacked-on, disco/concert by Sonic Death Metal, or whatever they happened to be called at the time. John Cusack's frequent chats to camera seem altogether natural (except when he's sauntering backwards and forwards on some wooden bridge-cum-platform in downtown Chicago).

What I like about this film is that, from a male viewpoint, it rings true so often. Men do behave treacherously, and the behaviour often looks worse at first sight. I like the fact that the actress who played Laura wasn't stunningly attractive. Even Lisa Bonet didn't seem particularly beautiful in the movie. (But yes, that really is Catherine Zeta-Jones discreetly stripping off in a role just before she became famous enough to warrant a major Hollywood film credit.)

This is not the perfect movie, but it contains a message about the male psyche that I hadn't extracted from any other movie, and that revelation in itself is sufficiently uplifting to distract from the artificial attempt by the film to uplift via the back-together-again concert/disco scenario.


Maudlin Navel Gazing to a Great Soundtrack   July 11, 2004
Jeffrey (Oakland, CA)
Ah yes. Another quirky offbeat romantic comedy from quirky offbeat romantic cynic John Cusack. Life sucks but he wouldn't miss it for the world. Give John Cusack credit. He was 34 when he made this. His character is a guy in his late 20's who has the emotional maturity of a teenager and Cusack pulls it off effortlessly. Cusack's character, Rob, isn't a jerk. He's a manchild. He doesn't mean to be a selfish obsessive boob; he just lacks the normal range of human adult emotions. Imagine the teenager Cusack played in Better Off Dead. Now imagine that teenager ten years later and working as the owner of a independent music store. He's a music snob and puts in long hours at the store but he still has time to ruin promising relationships with childish antics, talk to the screen and stalk former girlfriends while chasing after the next soon to be ex girlfriend. High Fidelty is the unofficial sequel to Better Off Dead. Instead of weird parents and goofy fantasy sequences, we get weird coworkers and morbid sexually and violently charged fantasy sequences involving Tim Robbins. I won't compliment the soundtrack except to say any movie about music had better have a damn good soundtrack and High Fidelity does its job.


There's a little Rob Gordon in all of us   June 23, 2004
Phillip Smith (Avondale, PA, USA)
After working on my college radio station as a DJ, entertainment news anchor, and Human Resource director, I was told by my friends that I should check this film out as I reminded them a lot of John Cusack's character in it. They were right. I too have had my share of bad relationships and can easily tell you the stories of how it went from "Hello" to "Goodbye" in less than 5 minutes. I have worked in music retail for 2 and a half years and I am also incredibly anal about my own collection of music and every song I can recognize played on the radio I can tell people what it is, who the artists is, what album it appeared on, and whether it is a radio edit, extended version, or remix.

That being said, when I first saw this movie I didn't quite understand many of the points. So I watched it again and realized "My god, I AM Rob Gordon!" Within a month, I purchased the DVD of High Fidelity and the book by Nick Hornby which was incredible. I highly recommend this film to all guys who have had their share of hard-not-to-forget relationships, radio DJs, music retail workers, and lovers of music of all types because the soundtrack, to quote Jack Black "kicks fu**ing a**".

The DVD is great to own. It presents the film in clear colorful matted Widescreen (1.85:1), offers 9 Deleted scenes that appeared in the original screenplay as well as the original novel, short mini conversations with actor John Cusack & director Stephen Frears, and the original theatrical trailer for the film.

Without a doubt, this is a MUST-HAVE for people who love music, have been in tough relationships, and enjoy writing Top 5 Lists.

"Good luck...goodbye...thanks, boss."-Rob Gordon (John Cusack)


Too Close To Home   June 11, 2004
jc (boston)
this movie nailed it on the head, well for me anyway..from being obsessed with making mix tapes..to not knowing where your life is heading..to troubled realtionships and the struggles that come from it..i think i might be Rob Gordon..which i dont know is a good or bad thing..but i do know i love this movie..
if your a music fan or have spent any time scouring used record shops while your wife or girlfriend is at home pissed because there is no room for anymore records. then you will love and relate to this move...its a true to life love story.. a story of trying to figure out where you screwed up in life..and a very funny comedy.