Advanced Cusack Humor 601

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2000)

So you liked Grosse Pointe Blank, you think you're hip to the dry, sarcastic, often morbid wit of John Cusack. You even got a kick out of Pushing Tin, watching him spiral into an ocean of self-analysis and despair as he tries desperately to deconstruct then reassemble his relationships. Now you're ready for the big leagues.
High Fidelity lacks both the gunslinging fun of Blank and the aerobatic insanity of Tin, replacing them with a total omnibus on the male point of view on women. This is told through narration, both first and third person, as well as a sizeable chunk of flashback time. The jokes are often quick, said low, not waiting for a laugh. The kind of humor only some people really get, and the rest of the theater takes the cue to laugh along. I was rolling in the aisles.
High Fidelity is not a date movie, unless guys want their girlfriends asking them a lot of difficult questions afterwards. Though not many of us obsess to the incredible lengths Cusack's character takes us, the issues and questions he raises are all too real. The movie lacks any kind of Seinfeld quality, for although it deals with mountains of minor details, the viewer always feels their sense of importance in the larger picture of life.
In summary: you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hope it doesn't inspire any awkward questions from your date...