Review of High Fidelity (2000) by Bashar M — 07 Mar 2011

High Fidelity is one of those feel good movies that is filled with great performances and great music while providing laughs throughout the film. Rob Gordon (John Cusack) owns his own record company, where he works with Barry (Jack Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso). The film takes you through Rob's narrative of his past experiences with break ups and has a very non linear narrative. It is Rob's "What does it all mean?" fase in life and the film follows his search for the answers. It's very clever and at certain points provides excellent insight into relationships.

To say Jack Black is hilarious in this film would be an understatement. Jack Black provides most of the laughs and I found myself bursting out laughing every time he had a line. He does a very impressive job of blending both verbal and physical humour. He really shows his versatility towards the end of the film when he sings a cover of Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get it On." It is an excellent perfomance and cements the fact the Jack Black is the scene-stealer of the film. With that being said all other actors involved do an excellent job as well, whether it's John Cusack as the protaganist, or Iben Hjejle as Rob's former/ girlfriend, or even Tim Robbins as 'Ian.'.

High Fidelity is essentially an antiromance. It does not focus on the progression of the relationship, but instead its focus is the problems of the relationship and what to learn from them. It is a very unique film and these kinds of movies do not come along very often.

To top it all off, High Fidelity has one of the most impressive amount of hit songs in its track listing. With over 70 songs it is impressive to say the least. From Elton John, to the Rolling Stones, to Bob Dylan, to the Beta Band, High Fidelity has music for nearly all tastes.

High Fidelity is the quintessential anti romantic comedy. Its excellent blend of comedy, insight, and, despite its subgenre, romance, work perfectly. I highly recommend High Fidelity to anyone.