Review of High Fidelity (2000) by Susan T — 09 Jun 2011

Having just watched this yesterday for the umpteenth time (is that an actual number?), I'm ready to review it. This movie is both a refuge for beleaguered vinyl freaks (like my husband, whom Rob--John Cusack's character half defines in one scene, in which he describes his customers: "men who spend all their time looking for original--NOT re-released--Frank Zappa records"), AND for romantics, like me.

Though I'm romantic enough to have a vested interested in the outcome of Rob's relationship with Laura (Iben Hjiele) and its demise, John Cusack (as always) makes the most of whatever material comes his way. I was much more seduced by his relationship with his two employees, Barry (Jack Black--the spazz!) and Tod Louiso, the sensitive guy) than anything else.

As director director Stephen Frears says in the DVD commentary, I was pretty much uninvolved in the music, with the exception of Louiso's claim about Green Day owing most of their influence to the Clash (HUH? Really? I'd like to ask St. Jimmy's opinion here) and other tidbits. And that's as it should be, since it allows one to gloss over the TOTALLY UNNECESSARY inclusion of Lisa Bonet as Marie de Salle singing "Peter F***ing Frampton" in a club, and her self-adoration! THAT was some casting that should have been re-thought! In a way, she is more self-involved and revolting than Cathering Zeta-Jones' "Charlie" (Rob's most celebrated ex).

But the real story is NOT the music (great as most of it is), but the characters. I LOVE "character-driven" films and this is one of the best. How often do you get a guy so messed up yet so enlightened that he can ADMIT he's messed up??!

And only Cusack could pull that off. He out-Robbinses Tim Robbins' sensitive, earthy-crunchy guy, which is quite a feat! Of course, he then counteracts it in his several fantasy sequences involving the murder by air conditioner of Robbins' character, Ian, who has "stolen" his girl.

Even my bete-noir (Catherine Zeta-Jones as the over-erotic, yet vapid "IT" girl, Charlie) is appropriately cast here, since she basically plays herself...or what Hollywood has made her into. Just for the record: I loved her in "Chicago" but that's it. I have a poll on Yahoo Answers proclaiming Kate Winlset the REALLY sexy British actress. Zeta-Jones just reminds me of Captain Quint's description of a shark before it attacks, in "Jaws". ("Lifeless eyes, like a doll's eyes").

Once again, as in Nick Hornsby's/Frears' "About a Boy", character and dialogue triumph and the anti-hero (in this instance, Cusack's fallible Rob) is sort of set free.

Like Hugh Grant's layabout guy, Rob is redeemed by love...only this time it's NOT love for a 13 year-old boy! That's what we call progress, I suppose.