KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Mihai Toma Being on the verge of yet another disastrous breakup, a record store owner starts to present his top five breakups, in an attempt to figure out what went wrong and eventually make things right.It's a very interesting movie, based on a main character who seems to have had and still have problems with the ladies. By constantly speaking to the viewers, he seems determined to bring back his historic failures or even make contact to the persons involved just to realize what went wrong. The way the main character performs and interacts with the audience has to be the best part of the movie. As the story unfolds, the dramatic but also funny life stories begin to influence his life, seeming to affect even his part at the store, but his two unique colleagues and friends will always be there for him.I have to say that the plot is very enjoyable, together with its excellent characters, very well described and played, complex and full of surprises, which manages to transmit plenty of emotion, drama but also laughter. Boredom is out of the question, although the action seems to be on the lower side, having plenty of substance to keep you attracted to what's going on. The finale is very satisfying, making the whole story worthwhile.To sum things up, it's a very good movie, full of great characters and actors which, through a great plot and way of communication, manages to provide a quality time for its viewers. It's not a masterpiece but a wonderful movie without any doubt.

sharky_55 Rob Gordon is stuck in middle-age purgatory, constantly flitting from relationship to relationship when asked to take an step forward and grow. Like Woody Allen's characters in his great romantic comedies, who couldn't help from making a joke of all but the gravest of situations, he segments and designates his life by his love of music. He and his two friends share this talent of musical elitism and snobbery; they spend all day berating the poor taste of their customers, they immediately try to define any real life scenario with the best song to fit, and then every now and again they even sell a record. But Stephen Frears isn't just playing the bad guy; Rob's passion for music, however snobbish, is authentic, and Frears finds a way to elicit not only humour out of it, but eventually good. They want to broaden the tastes of the wider public, and Cusack is so confident in his love for The Beta Band and their ability to turn heads and ears. When two youthful thieves run off with a bunch of records, they furiously give chase, before the confrontation turns into a hilarious argument about the poor taste of their stolen records. Frears plays this straight, making it funnier, but also seeding the roots of Rob's passion and eventual discovery of the pair's talent. Naturally, he wants to help foster and let others hear it too. Cusack is the perfect choice. He is a product of his early career, the teen movies, and he brings this experience and baggage into his portrayal of Rob. Much of the exposition has him talking and facing the camera, narrating his own story, as if he was one of those directors or writers who make themselves the main and best character. So the frames close in on his story, the backgrounds vanish, and Cusack motions and pours out his life story for the audience. His voice-over is angry, volatile, unable to consider any perspective other than his own, and has self-depreciating quality that swiftly sheds himself of any blame. Perplexed, he beings a journey of diving back into his past to discover exactly the reason for his failed relationships. When he meets an ex who is similarly despondent, he recognises the same signs of "sad, single person culture", but has no empathy. He is too high and mighty for that. The best scenes of the film come from his back and forth with his most recent ex-girlfriend Laura, who has finally had enough and packed the bags. This is where Rob is at his most self-righteous, most unaware. The messy breakup process is very clearly painful for her to, but Rob is only concerned with himself, so he sabotages each encounter with her with crass, unimportant queries. He feels entitled to have a say in the negotiation of this period, so he assaults her with a barrage of requests and phone-calls, and because she is much nicer and more mature than him, she plays along. Rob seems to have picked out the score for the film himself; when it seems certain that they will not get back together, it croons with Velvet Underground. And in a moment which completely illustrates his lack of sensitivity and maturity, he jumps for joy to Queen's We Are the Champions, just because Laura has not yet consummated her next relationship. Very funny, and very sad indeed. But of course they do eventually, and Rob, whose short-sightedness prevented him from seeing so, descends back into the mopey, 'the whole world is against me routine'. He calls her in the night, soaking in the rain and holding back tears, blubbering and trying to win her back. This act is so perfectly reminiscent of Cusack's iconic moment in Say Anything, holding the stereo aloft all night. The connection works because Cusack is no longer a teenager, but still held ransom by these teenage swings of emotion, so heart-wrenching he can barely function. What prevents High Fidelity from being a great film is how it momentarily slips up into soppy, conventional romantic comedy territory. Much of the film is ruthless in its dissection of Rob's faults, but it all falls into place like a typical romance does when he and Laura get back together. Laura is barely a character here; she simply flops over for him, conveniently sweeping Ian aside to reward an undeserving Rob with sex. It so clearly feels like one of his 'cool' fantasies that I was begging for the scene to rewind. Instead the film acts like a broken record, skipping ahead of the implied complications to that sweet-toothed ending. It isn't a bad ending; there is nothing wrong with expecting Rob to pick up the pieces of his life and finally move forward in his relationship. But it does seem like a bit of a let off.

SnoopyStyle Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is broken up after his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) leaves him. He's in his 30s and owns a specialty record store in a bad neighborhood. Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black) are his weird snobbish employees. Rob recalls the list of his great loves lost. He has to grow up if he's to get Laura back.Along with their encyclopedic knowledge of music, these are some crazy characters. Director Stephen Frears is able to infuse them with likability. It's slyly humorous. Jack Black almost steals the movie with Todd Louiso as his perfect foil. Iben Hjejle has a maturity with a hint of a wild youth. It's also imminently rewatchable.

Michael Radny What I like about High Fidelity was the fact that the humour was really well done and the story didn't feel boring and clichéd; at least at first thought. In my personal opinion, the first half of this film is fantastic, funny and sophisticated. The second half of this film fell quite flat with that typical romantic comedy storyline which seems to plague most of these films. But all in all, the film ends up being decent, leaves a slightly bad taste in your mouth at the end, but you will reminisce the first half to make it better. Good for the most part, but I very much dislike the final half hour. It seemed unnecessary and boring, but above all clichéd and typical. But if you get your hands on this film, the glory is the first hour; that is comedy that you will never see in a film again!