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