The ultimate geek movie.

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2000)

I'm sure the people sitting around me when I saw this movie were completely exasperated. I'd grab the shoulder of the person next to me. "Did you see that? Did you see that???" Bauhaus t-shirts and KMFDM magnets. Vegan and The Vandals. The critics are talking about the movie dialogue being chock full of pop culture and underground music; the reason they noticed the dialogue so much was that they weren't actually into the stuff the characters were talking about. True obscure pop culture freaks (people who had actually heard of Jesus and the Mary Chain instead of a movie critic thinking that would be a clever name for a band) were busy noticing the scenery. Both are extremely enjoyable; I haven't mentioned until now that High Fidelity is a really great movie. It's fun and funny, serious in between, and never ever boring. John Cusack's melloncollie is right on target and wonderful to watch. And while the scenery is there, it's never better to watch than the movie itself. High Fidelity is, in short, the geek's dream movie. The dialogue is overflowing with references to old school punk (how Green Day is influenced at all by Stiff Little Fingers I'll never know, but hey...) and eighties power pop, all the while commenting on human nature when one is alone, in love, and part of a whole. The characters are extremely likable and lively. The soundtrack is jammin. Just... a good movie. See it. Enjoy it. Cheer for the Wax Trax t-shirt.