High Fidelity (2000) * * * *

Directed by:  Stephen Frears

Starring:  John Cusack, Jack Black, Catherine Zeta-Jones

What a funny movie this is.   It doesn't use slapstick, bathroom humor, or bodily functions to get its laughs.    It relies on characters and smart, real dialogue.    These are people we can relate to and identify with.   Usually if the characters are interesting, everything else falls into place.    That's certainly the case here.

Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, which was set in England, High Fidelity moves the action to Chicago.    Its central character is Rob (Cusack), who runs a record store in the Windy City called Championship Vinyl.    The film was released in 2000, when record stores were still around and there may have been even a place that sold vinyl if you looked hard enough.    His employees are Barry (Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso), who despite being music snobs and pissing off customers, are unfireable.   "I hired them to work three days a week and they started showing up every day.   I can't fire them now," laments Rob.    Rob, Barry, and Dick have one thing in common.    Each loves to begin discussions with "Give me a list of Top 5 (fill in category)", which are fun and reveal a lot about the mindsets of these guys.    When asked about Top 5 funeral songs, Barry reveals, "You Can't Always Get What You Want".    Dick retorts, "That's disqualified due to association with The Big Chill."    Black's response is "Damn it, that's right." as if he suddenly remembered this long-standing rule.    Black is such a music snob that he bans a customer from the store who requests "I Just Called To Say I Love You."  

The film focuses on Rob's recent breakup with his longtime girlfriend Laura.    Rob then goes through his personal list of "Top 5 Breakups" and is happy that Laura doesn't make the list.   But he obsesses over the breakup and Laura to the point that he revisits the women on his Top 5 to find out what went wrong in their relationships.   What he finds is funny, sad, painful, and a pattern.   Is it possible that Rob finds it more compelling to chase Laura than to actually have her?    Was the chase always better than the kill?    Is he destined to be left?

In the meantime, Laura hooks up with Ian (Tim Robbins), a creepy guy who is a master of "conflict resolution".   Rob's encounter with Ian in the record store plays itself out in a hilarious series of fantasies of what Rob would like to do to Ian.    An air conditioning unit is involved, but I'll leave it at that.    But it appears Rob has his heart set on winning Laura back and she appears confused about things herself, leading to arguments and some touching moments.

The people in High Fidelity are smart, likable, and refreshingly honest about themselves.    We care for them and root for them to be happy.    Can Rob ever be happy knowing what he knows about himself?   Maybe, maybe not, but Cusack plays Rob with a strong mix of humor, pathos, and insecurity.      I love the scene where Laura says to Rob, "I haven't slept with Ian yet."   At first Rob is ecstatic, but then he starts to think about the "yet" in the statement and it drives him batty.    So batty that he engages in a conversation with Barry about the word "yet".    Barry is so bewildered by this chat that he says, "I know I don't usually say this, but can I get back to work now?"    Priceless.