Rob Gordon finds himself trying to navigate life, love, break-ups, and heartache while owning, managing, and working in a record store.

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 2013)

This is one of my favorite movies because I originally loved the book and it translated well to film! Nick Hornby's writing of the male monologue is witty, insightful, humorous, and unparalleled.
I did I have a critique of the casting of Iben Hjejle as the current relationship and catalyst for the movie. I think that there could've been a better fit for that role, but with that said, she did fine. Other than Hjejle, there was an all star supporting cast in this movie: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Tim Robbins to name a few! These guys all helped make the movie fun and memorable ... especially Black who stole more than a few scenes!
"Top 5 ..." is the running theme throughout the film. A break-up with his long term, live-in girlfriend inspires him to re-live his "Top 5" break-ups. He contacts his past girlfriends to meet and rehash the past in order to understand "what went wrong?". As is typical in most relationships there are 2 sides to every story-Rob has a few surprises thrust upon him along the way. The audience has a few surprises about Rob served up to them as well. I think Hornby did a great job creating a truly 3-dimensional character; one that has faults but is still appealing. Cusack did a great job showing all sides of Rob.
The record store, "Championship Vinyl", supplies us with 2 lovable misfits (Barry-Black and Dick) who were hired for part- time but never seem to leave. All three play off each other well creating a chemistry that guarantees laughs. The "Top 5" theme carries on into the shop in a few different ways. My favorite example of this is when they pose a question such as name the "Top 5 songs about death" and then the three of them will try to beat each other to death with their musical snobbery ... which they do to their customers on a daily basis! Music is present throughout the entire film. It is so essential to the plot that one could make the case that music is the glue that holds this film together or even better it's the gas in which it runs on for those 113 minutes.
All in all, this is an absolutely excellent film which I highly recommend! It is still, after all of these years, one of my favorites. The story of Rob's "midlife crisis" is a classic tale that everyone can relate to but is told in such a creative way and gives a fresh perspective which is what keeps it current. The soundtrack itself heightens the story.
My "Top 5 Reasons that make 'High Fidelity' a must see": 1. Great writing 2. Relatable material 3. Humor and wit 4. Amazing cast 5. Sensational soundtrack