High Fidelity

One of my favorite movies, based on one of my favorite books. "High Fidelity" is perfect if you already had a broken heart, and if you tried to heal it with some pop songs.

John Cusack is not acting - he REALLY IS Rob Fleming (Rob Gordon in the movie). If there are doubts about it, I just say that he made the soundtrack compilation and collaborated with the screenplay.

The supporting cast is also perfect. Jack Black and Todd Louiso couldn't be better. Tim Robbins, as the world-music-fan, is a nice surprise, and Joan Cusack is always funny.

It looks like everyone had a lot of fun making this movie, and the result is a nice and funny and full of emotions motion picture, to see again and again and again to remember how music and love can help each other.

John Cusack is the star, and one of the screenwriters and co-producers, of this likeable adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel. At its core, it capably tells a good romantic story, and does a very amusing job at poking fun at people who lord their supposedly superior musical knowledge (and tastes) over others. It's got an attractive and endearing cast, and it naturally also has a non-stop, eclectic soundtrack.

Cusack plays Rob, the neurotic owner of a record store that is far from prosperous. His employees are the timid Dick (Todd Louiso) and the far more brash Barry (Jack Black, who walks away with the film). After his longtime girlfriend Laura (charming Danish actress Iben Hjejle) dumps him for another man, it forces him to take stock and reflect on the major relationships - and break-ups - of his life.

Cusack is typically engaging, although this viewer could have done without that over-used device of having the main character directly address the camera. The film itself, despite being a little overlong, has some good laughs. I cracked up when Rob fantasized possible reactions to the annoying Ian (an amusing Tim Robbins), including a scenario of him, Barry, and Dick beating the almighty hell out of him.

Some intelligent and pointed dialogue is brought to life by this talented cast, with a steady parade of lovely ladies (Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter) as the women who have caught Robs' eyes over the years. Rob himself is not too sympathetic for much of the running time, but then, that is the whole point as it takes a while to pinpoint himself as a common denominator, and have his eventual epiphany.

Nice cameo by rock star Bruce Springsteen, too.

Seven out of 10.

John Cusack's character in 'High Fidelity (2000)' is an absolute jerk. He's a self-obsessed, gatekeeping musical elitist who doesn't care about anyone other than himself and frequently throws temper tantrums when he experiences consequences for his own bad behaviour, which he typically contorts to be the fault of anyone other than himself. He frequently launches into misogynistic tirades against women and their perceived cruelty, actively blaming them for all the problems he himself creates. Plus, his ultimate arc is learning to treat his partner as an actual person (wow, how brave). An unlikable protagonist doesn't automatically make a bad movie, though. The flick is generally rather interesting when it gets going. The hero's hypocritical and otherwise unhealthy behaviour is oddly compelling to see, his descent into self-destruction providing something not often seen in a film's leading man. His actions are an example of what not to do in his situation. However, it does also mean that we're more likely to root for his continued suffering than any sort of catharsis, even though it could be argued that he - like pretty much everyone else - should be afforded a second chance in the end (despite most of his behaviour actively harming almost all of the women in his life). He's often insufferable, to be honest, and that does keep you at an arm's length for most of the runtime. Still, the flick is typically entertaining enough for what it is. Some of its stylistic elements don't quite work, but it's generally a competent and confident affair. The film often breaks the fourth-wall in a fairly banal way, simply using the technique to replace disembodied narration, and yet this element is sometimes strangely satisfying. The overall experience is a bit too long and, even, slightly repetitive, but it's decent enough. It would probably have been better if its protagonist was flawed but not (nearly) irredeemably so, as is the case here. Regardless of this, though, the flick is fairly fun. It isn't great, but it's good enough. 6/10.

HIGH FIDELITY (2000) **** John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Todd Louiso, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones (unbilled), Lili Taylor, Joan Cusack, Shannon Stillo, Tim Robbins, Joelle Carter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

John Cusack is my favorite contemporary actor for many reasons, which due to time and space will not permit me to go into lavish detail, but it's basically down to a simple formula for me, that he continues to full tilt in his latest variation of the good hearted, somewhat sarcastic anti-hero with a heart of gold: Fearless Fragile Funny.

Based on the cult best selling international novel by Great Britain's Nick Hornby the story is transplanted from modern day London to modern day Chicago focusing all its angst and comic philosophies in its character, Rob Gordon (Cusack in one of his finest performances, who also co-wrote and produced the film),

the owner of a vintage LP album shop, `Championship Vinyl', who is having a pre-mid-life crisis in his life: namely his latest girlfriend, Laura (the fetching Danish actress Hjejle in her first American role), a lawyer, has just dumped him and the fact that he may have to grow up or come to terms with his existence of being a den mother to his yin and yang clerks, Barry (Black, riotous) and Dick (Louiso, best known as the au pair from `Jerry Maguire', is pitch perfect in his humorous approach), the former a loudmouth know it all and the latter a soft-spoken lover of all music, both the book ends to Rob's equally passionate take on pop music and how it has somehow manifested itself to his being ; the end all to end all.

`What came first.the misery or the music?' Rob asks at the very beginning of the film and it is here that Rob decides to investigate just how he is at fault to the 5 all time greatest break ups in his love life a la The Top 5s he and his co-horts in crime habitually categorize all things pertinent to music. What follows is a laugh-filled introspection of the heart on its sleeve and its tongue sharply in cheek as to Rob's quest of finding all his faults and foibles in hope of wooing back his recent romantic dismissal that includes 5 prototypes of all heterosexual men: The First Kiss/Crush; The Adolescent Urgency/Loss of Virginity, The Woman Out of His League; The Rebound Best Friend/Possible Soul Mate and finally, The One True Love He Isn't Even Aware Of.

The approach may seem old hat and gimmicky (Cusack breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly into the camera) yet it isn't intrusive but enlightening into what the hero is really thinking and more importantly why. Surrounded by a truly winning cast, Cusack shines once again as a likable average guy who is trying to remain a guy although the inner voice of Be A Man is palpable and reverberating inside. His nonchalant, casual way of speaking and his slow burns are priceless (he finally takes out his frustrations on Laura's new beau, the unctious sensitive pony-tailed Ian played by Cusack's best bud and former co-star of `The Sure Thing' and the cult classic `Tapeheads', Robbins, in the film's funniest fantasy sequence of Rob, Barry and Dick pummeling Ian to death). Cusack's constant streak of the smart alecky good guy continues from the quintessential portrait of Lloyd Dobler, kickboxing student of the affairs of the heart in the classic `Say Anything.' and the previous purveyor of romantic comedy, Walter `Gib' Gibson in the update of `It Happened One Night', `The Sure Thing' to his hit-man Martin Blank pondering his high school reunion with dread in the black comedy `Grosse Pointe Blank' (reunited here with his screenwriters/partners in crime D.V. De Vincentis, Steve Pink and Scott Rosenberg).

The women portraying Rob's Girlfriends of Christmas Past , so to speak, are exemplery especially Taylor (another Cusack repertoire player, who played his best gal pal/voice of reason in `Anything.') as Sarah the rebound fling and Zeta-Jones as Charlie (showing some nice moments of sublime sardonicism), the sexy babe completely out of his element). Bonet has a few nice moments as local singer Marie De Salle who provides some unsubtle ways of bringing Rob to his senses. Sister Joan provides some comic bile as well as mutual friend to Laura and Rob. But frankly it's a guy's flick and thanks to the boisterous Black (late of HBO's comedy series `Tenacious D' and a score of films as diverse as `Mars Attacks!' and last year's co-starring with Cusack in `Cradle Will Rock') and geeky, quiet Louiso adding some color especially in their scenes together debating their varied choices of musical tastes.

Directed by Stephen Frears, a fellow Englishman who appears to know the American arcana striking a responsive chord (he put Cusack through the paces in the neo-noir classic `The Grifters' a decade ago) allows his characters time to pace themselves from one setup to the next and skillfully keeps the smart patter gleaned from the book alive on screen.

Easily one of the year's funniest films and finally a film I whole heartedly recommend in what seemed to be dearth of mediocrity thus far in the new millennium. To paraphrase the emergence of Bruce Springsteen (who has a funny cameo) into rock's pantheon I will allude this to comedy: I have seen the future and it is John Cusack. Rock On!

And High Fidelity shows that this is more true for Rob Gordon (John Cusack) than most people. Rob owns Championship Vinyl, a record store where he and his two employees, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), argue about music and insult customers. This is the background for a fantastic movie early in the year and one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while.

The movie's main plot is Rob recounting his past breakups via his favorite organizing device, the Top 5 List. He purposely excludes his most recent girlfriend, Laura, from it. He is trying to deal with her leaving him for a strange, world music-listening, martial arts-doing freak named Ian (Tim Robbins). Then he decides to look up all his old girlfriends, and in the process finds out a lot about himself.

The best scenes, however, are those in the record store - Todd Louiso and especially the utterly hilarious Jack Black steal every scene they're in. They argue over music incessantly, and anyone who knows a good deal about music will be laughing hysterically during these scenes. Dick is a quiet music geek in the classic sense of the word, while Barry is a cruel, ridiculous elitist.

In the end, High Fidelity is a wonderful, terribly funny movie with a lot of great stuff in it. See it.