High Fidelity

Released 2000
Stars John Cusack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Joan Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, Natasha Wagner
Directed by Stephen Frears

Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, High Fidelity is a quirky comedy that explores the romantic misfortunes of the main character. Rob is the owner of "Championship Vinyl", a music store that specializes in lp's. Along with his assistants, belligerent Barry (Jack Black) and meek Dick (Todd Louiso), Rob does his best to keep his shop afloat, even though it's barely making enough for him to keep him off welfare. Rob is a neurotic, and he obsesses over his lackluster romantic history. Fond of making Top 5 lists, Rob has recently composed his "Top 5 all-time break-ups", and he re-lives each of them in his head, from a high-school sweetheart he kissed under the bleachers to the beautiful Charlie (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who is even more self-absorbed than Rob. His latest loss, however, has hit Rob the hardest, because he belatedly realized she may have been "the one." Her name is Laura (Iben Hjejle), and, after growing weary of Rob's general listlessness and unwillingness to commit, she decided to leave him and move in with a former neighbor, new wave guru Ian (Tim Robbins).

Summary by James Berardinelli