Cusack's good acting trashes his character's appeal

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2000)

I was looking forward to seeing this film, it being populated by some of my favorite actors (the Cusacks, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tim Robbins, et al) and partially penned by one of my favorite writers (Scott Rosenberg). The problem I (and all the members of my family, including a college-student daughter) had was that Cusack's character elicited absolutely no sympathy. This chain-smoking, self-centered, amoral loser is certainly no one I would wish to get the girl in the end. I like films that bend genre canon as much as the next iconoclast, but this was just too much. I kept waiting for Rob to finally get his comeuppance, but it never happened. As as for the main character, Laura, she is a one-woman ad campaign for Dr. Laura's book on 10 Stupid Things Women Do to mess up their lives. Who can sympathize with a doormat?
HIGH FIDELITY does feature some insightful and subtle humor, but the laughs are few and far between, and the film drags not only in the middle but toward the end as well. Fine supporting performances are turned in my numerous cast members, most notably Jack Black, Joan Cusack, and Lili Taylor. The much-touted soundtrack does have some good tunes, but over all I found it very uneven--certainly no EMPIRE RECORDS in that regard.
I would echo other comments here to the effect that this is not the kind of movie one would take a date to, at least with the intention of fostering romantic ideation. On the other hand, it might be an effective preamble to a lovers' fight, or even a breakup.