|
Review by Susan Granger
3½ stars out of 4
In this romantic comedy, John Cusack plays a self-confessed
music junkie who owns Championship Vinyl, a dilapidated record store
in downtown Chicago. Having just been dumped by his girl-friend
(delectable Danish actress Iben Hjejle), he spends his days playing
verbal trivia games with his two moronic employees (Todd Louiso, Jack
Black), who share his encyclopedic knowledge of pop music and the
music scene, and most nights morbidly picking at the scab of his
emotional misery. In the form of an into-the-camera confessional, he
chronicles the failed relationships that repeated his first rejection
at age 14 in junior high school. "Did I listen to pop music because I
was miserable or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" he
muses, organizing his record collection, not alphabetically or
chronologically, but autobiographically, so he has to remember the
connections. While he considers himself unlucky in love, his ex's
include Catherine Zeta Jones, Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter and Lisa
Bonet. Joan Cusack plays his pal while Tim Robbins is hilarious as a
rival suitor. Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, it's been cleverly
adapted by D.V. DeVincentis & Steve Pink & John Cusack, who worked
together on Grosse Pointe Blank, plus Scott Rosenberg and perceptively
directed by Stephen Frears, who makes Cusack into a self-reflecting
Everyman who wonders if he'll ever find true love. With his
ingratiating charm and impeccable timing, Cusack is not only likable
but believable. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, High-Fidelity
is an honest, funny, ironic 8. Striking a timely, contemporary note,
it's a "must see" for anyone who wants to know the truth about young
men - and their obsession with music.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
|
out of 4
