Nice music lover geekiness coupled with a lousy love story

Rating: 6/10 (5 January 2001)

Some movies you see, after you think about it a bit, you like it even more than when you left the cinema. With others, the more you reflect upon it, the more you become cognizant of its flaws. For me, High Fidelity' falls into the latter category.
Of course I was drawn in by the setting of the story: a guy around my age obsessively into music running a vinyl record shop in Chicago. But below that somewhat romantic surface is a really tepid love story about two people who I had difficulty mustering any concern for. The mind- boggling happy ending is unconvincing, to be polite, and intelligence insulting if I think about it more cynically. Why is John Cusack, a nerdy record store guy in love with this dull yuppie? And why is John Cusack, a nerdy record store guy so boring?
The film is full of interesting characters, all of whom are peripheral, but the principal players, John Cusack and Iben Hjeijle couldn't have been more regular, normal, and dull yuppies. Perhaps that makes them quite realistic as most cool' people are indeed quite normal' under the surface (especially as they start pushing past 30). Fine, but that doesn't mean I have to like a movie about people like this, does it?

It's still probably worth seeing for the musical references (if you're into that) and for the exceptional supporting performances by Todd Louiso & Jack Black (playing Cusack's nerdy record store employees - they are infinitely more interesting than Cusack, both the actor and his character), Tim Robbins (who plays the annoying new age hippie guy to perfection), as well as John's sister Joan Cusack (who plays the hot-headed best friend of the female lead).
It's not a bad movie, but it just lacks much soul, especially regarding the main love story plot. 6 out of 10.