This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Great Film overall

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Most rom - coms made in Hollywood were either told by a woman or written/thought by one, so we always got a one sided affair that contained emotional swings, unreal scenarios, fantasy endings and plot twists that only strengthen the happy ending; an ideal scenario to a female fantasy regarding love, born out of fairytales. Additionally, when such movies were more realistic and on the mature side, they continued to tell the story through a woman's lenses. High Fidelity is such a poignant chapter in the Hollywood annals of romantic comedies precisely because it breaks the norm - the story of love, sorrow, confliction, friendship and personal psyche is finally told by a male's point of view, and explained in a very realistic scenario of a simple, every day man. Rob Gordon (John Cusack) owns a record store in Chicago, and he is going through a break up. A man who always seems to have everything sorted and in order, he narrates through the whole movie, cataloguing his top 5 break ups up to the recent one, explaining the reason they occurred.Through the course of the film, we see him going through the motions of his break up, the so called five stages of grief, so to speak. Along the way, with his ex - girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) constantly on the forefront of his mind, Rob tries to sort out his feelings, going into deep musical conversations with his employees Barry (Jack Black), an elitist music lover who often connects day events with a "top 5 tracklist", and Dick (Todd Louiso), the sentimental part of the trio. Along the way, Rob goes through a soul search of his own, eventually coming to conclusions about his character, his behaviour, and acceptance that for love and a relationship to survive, you have to take a leap of faith into the unknown.Do not believe that this movie is anything sappy, for it remains a comedy for the bigger portion of its 2 hour course. Black ensembles a perfect character on himself, and you'll definitely laugh with his constant opinion on contemporary and old music alike, especially when he downgrades a poor old customer about it. Cusack is as believable as it gets, bringing forth every emotion possible associated with falling in love, from anger to envy, and nostalgia to care. Above all, it's a very educational film into the male psyche, and will definitely become a favourite of both genders, because it lacks any "fairytale ending". It's a dive into an emotional trip, seen through the eyes of an everyday man, where it is bound to stay with you long after the credits roll.

In one of the last classicly '90s films, High Fidelity, John Cusack stars as a classicly '90s hero: he's single in his thirties, doesn't know why, and wants more than anything to be in a relationship. Nowadays, that type of man doesn't really exist anymore; he got married in 2000.As John reflects on his past relationships, he talks to the audience and exposes them to his work and friends. He works at a record shop, and music is a huge part of his life, so if you can't really identify with him in his romantic troubles or his love of music, you will probably find the movie irritating and boring. As it is, I'm a '90s kid, but a little on the younger side, and I think I might have missed the core demographic of this movie by a few years. I'm not entranced by vinyl, and I tended to see the main character's shortcomings rather than his qualities.While nostalgia is a good reason to pick up this movie, you might also want to watch it for the supporting cast. Jack Black, Catherin Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins, Lisa Bonet, Lili Taylor, Natasha Wagner, and Iben Hjejle all contribute to this colorful film in their own way. I didn't end up liking High Fidelity, but I don't usually like dark comedies or quirky romances.

"Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"Stephen Frear's High Fidelity breaks the fourth wall from the very opening scene as Rob Gordon (John Cusack) begins sharing with us about his top 5 breakups right at the time his girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), is moving out of his apartment and leaving him. It is evident he is hurt, but he brushes it off by saying she doesn't even rank in his list of the most hurtful breakups. That is when he begins listing who each one of them were while we get flashbacks of those memories intertwined with the present in which we are introduced to his job, friends, and his passion for music. Rob is a vintage record store owner and his two employees, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), are as much music snobs as he is, and they too enjoy making lists of their favorite things usually involving music. The more we get to know Rob, we realize that he isn't the typical romantic character we'd find in a film like this. He is deeply flawed, he has cheated on his girlfriend, he doesn't seem to be going anywhere with his life, and he is afraid of commitment. Somehow he always believes to be the victim in the break-ups, but from what he says we know that he has never been boyfriend of the year material. It is hard to root for a character like Rob, but John Cusack delivers such a charismatic and engaging performance that we accept his flaws and want him to get over the heartbreak. Along the way he realizes that Laura really belongs on the list and decides to revisit some of his past flames to discover what he has been doing wrong. Frears has directed some great films (The Queen, Philomena), along with not so good ones that feel like direct to TV movies, but High Fidelity belongs in his top list of best films. It is a romantic comedy that has an entertaining script, some great performances, and of course a wonderful soundtrack. The screenplay was adapted from Nick Horny's book but instead of setting the story in London they bring it to Chicago and it absolutely works. Jack Black and Todd Louiso give strong supporting performances and you believe they actually are these snobs who are living music encyclopedias. They complement Cusack's performance and deliver most of the comedic moments. As for John Cusack I believe this is one of his best performances although I still need to see a couple more of his films to solidify that claim. The romance in High Fidelity is also incredibly believable and relatable which is hard to come across by in most rom-coms. Neither Cusack nor Hjejle are portrayed as these perfect role models in a relationship, they are both flawed characters who have made some poor decisions.Even though my music knowledge is very limited, I was able to relate to these characters because of their shared passion. I may not have that same passion for music, but I do for movies or sports so I understood where these characters were coming from and believed the culture this film created surrounding music. The screenwriters knew what they were writing about and each one of the actors delivered, and that is what has made High Fidelity such a cult favorite for many teens. It manages to be smart and funny at the same time. It is also one of the best examples of a film successfully being able to break the fourth wall and including the audience in the genius of the movie and its charm. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

That's is a excellent movie (period).The plot goes around the life, memories and self narrative of a guy who owns a music store. He gets messed up between his actual relationship and all other lovers that builded his history and his way to interact with womens.He starts it listing his top five break-ups of all time.Then he goes to other lists.Then he focus on his relationship comeback.It's just awesome!!!Don't lose the opportunity to watch this!!!