Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Most rom - coms made in Hollywood were either told by a woman or written/thought by one, so we always got a one sided affair that contained emotional swings, unreal scenarios, fantasy endings and plot twists that only strengthen the happy ending; an ideal scenario to a female fantasy regarding love, born out of fairytales. Additionally, when such movies were more realistic and on the mature side, they continued to tell the story through a woman's lenses. High Fidelity is such a poignant chapter in the Hollywood annals of romantic comedies precisely because it breaks the norm - the story of love, sorrow, confliction, friendship and personal psyche is finally told by a male's point of view, and explained in a very realistic scenario of a simple, every day man. Rob Gordon (John Cusack) owns a record store in Chicago, and he is going through a break up. A man who always seems to have everything sorted and in order, he narrates through the whole movie, cataloguing his top 5 break ups up to the recent one, explaining the reason they occurred.Through the course of the film, we see him going through the motions of his break up, the so called five stages of grief, so to speak. Along the way, with his ex - girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) constantly on the forefront of his mind, Rob tries to sort out his feelings, going into deep musical conversations with his employees Barry (Jack Black), an elitist music lover who often connects day events with a "top 5 tracklist", and Dick (Todd Louiso), the sentimental part of the trio. Along the way, Rob goes through a soul search of his own, eventually coming to conclusions about his character, his behaviour, and acceptance that for love and a relationship to survive, you have to take a leap of faith into the unknown.Do not believe that this movie is anything sappy, for it remains a comedy for the bigger portion of its 2 hour course. Black ensembles a perfect character on himself, and you'll definitely laugh with his constant opinion on contemporary and old music alike, especially when he downgrades a poor old customer about it. Cusack is as believable as it gets, bringing forth every emotion possible associated with falling in love, from anger to envy, and nostalgia to care. Above all, it's a very educational film into the male psyche, and will definitely become a favourite of both genders, because it lacks any "fairytale ending". It's a dive into an emotional trip, seen through the eyes of an everyday man, where it is bound to stay with you long after the credits roll.

This movie captures so perfectly the perspective of many who love music: to have such passion for a band, to take pride in knowing lesser known artists, their influences, and music trivia, and to snobbishly judge others for what they listen to, even though it's all of course personal and subjective. It's also a pretty good movie about the difficulty of relationships. John Cusack is talented, funny, and likable as a record store owner floundering his way through breakups, mainly because as much as he's an expert on music, he's a dunce about women. He often talks directly to the camera, drifting back to memories and musing over various 'top five' lists. The film also has a fantastic supporting cast, including Jack Black in his breakout role, Joan Cusack in some great scenes opposite her brother, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Tim Robbins among others. Quirky and well- done, this film has something for everyone.

Now this one was a tough call. Everyone knows how much I love movies with LOVE and HEARTBREAK, but this sort of took me by surprise, and NOT really in a good way. I watched this film first when I was nine, when my dad took me to see it. I probably didn't understand a word and was confused why the main character is hurt so much by a girl.. // What I do remember pondering was how Jack Black was the BEST! and how much I felt bad for the character, Dick (Todd Louiso), who takes so much shyt from him. Viewing it now, as a film student and somewhat a critic, I think he is the best part of the movie. No Joke! We all have those people in our life that make us feel a little awkward and just ask too many god-damn questions. I think he changes the most throughout the film, too. In fact, our main protagonist, Rob (played by John Cusack), does not change at all. That is why I am not being too reviewer-friendly with this entry.The thing is: I am a realist (sort of). I like movies to speak to me; give me some answers to the things that I should already know that I have not fully grasped yet. That, and the fact that I want to relate with something. But this story let me down towards the end. - I swear, that rarely happens.****Seriously, though! It is a universal understanding that "once a cheater, always a cheater", and I do not take it lightly when someone ends up with the wrong person in the end. I wish it finished more truthfully; BETTER CLOSURE FOR THE BROKEN HEARTED. Not the old 90s ending where everything is okay, because it is not. Especially, for the viewer who, chances are, is alone and wonders why they cannot connect with anyone. I can go on forever, ranting about how I was let down in the climax of this film, but I do not want to bore you - and frankly, I do not want to write negatively about any project. **Maybe in ten more years, when I am a completely different person than I am now, I might enjoy the corniness, but as of right now - Too cliché (ONLY IN THE END, THOUGH).I rate this film a 6 out of 10. It honestly hurts me to do this, because I WANTED to like it. Really, I did! I WANTED it to be good, and a ahead of its time. In the end, I think it was nothing but an afternoons delight. — Heart-on!— Michael Mendez

What I like about High Fidelity was the fact that the humour was really well done and the story didn't feel boring and clichéd; at least at first thought. In my personal opinion, the first half of this film is fantastic, funny and sophisticated. The second half of this film fell quite flat with that typical romantic comedy storyline which seems to plague most of these films. But all in all, the film ends up being decent, leaves a slightly bad taste in your mouth at the end, but you will reminisce the first half to make it better. Good for the most part, but I very much dislike the final half hour. It seemed unnecessary and boring, but above all clichéd and typical. But if you get your hands on this film, the glory is the first hour; that is comedy that you will never see in a film again!