High Fidelity is a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack. The film is loosely based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character changed. After seeing the film, Hornby expressed his happiness with John Cusack's performance as Rob Gordon (changed from Rob Fleming in the book), saying, "At times, it appears to be a film in which John Cusack reads my book".[2]
Plot
The plot of High Fidelity centers on Rob Gordon (John Cusack), a self-confessed audiophile whose flair for understanding women is less than par for the course. After getting dumped by his current girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), he decides to look up some of his old flames in an attempt to figure out what he keeps doing wrong in his relationships.
He spends his days at his record store, Championship Vinyl, where he holds court over the customers that drift through. Helping Rob in his task of musical elitism are Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), the "musical moron twins," as he refers to them. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical, they compile "top five" lists for every conceivable occasion, openly mock the ignorance of their customers, and, every so often, actually sell a few records. Also there are some teenagers, Vince (Chris Rehmann) and Justin (Ben Carr), who skate near his store. In one busy day at the store, the teenagers try to steal some records and he chases them down, making his dislike for them bigger, until one day, he listens to a recording that they did and offers them a record deal, starting his own label called "Top 5 Records". During his off hours, he pines for the lost girlfriend Laura and does his best to win her back.
Cast
Production
Nick Hornby's book was optioned by Disney's Touchstone Pictures in 1995 where it went into development for three years.[3] Disney boss Joe Roth had a conversation with recording executive Kathy Nelson who recommended John Cusack and his writing and producing partners D.V. DeVincentis and Steve Pink adapt the book. She had worked previously with them on Grosse Pointe Blank and felt that they had the right sensibilities for the material.[4] According to Cusack, DeVincentis is the closest to the record-obsessive characters in the film, owning 1,000 vinyl records and thousands of CDs and tapes.[5] They wrote a treatment that was immediately greenlit by Roth.[4]
Screenplay
The writers decided to change the book's setting from London to Chicago because they were more familiar with the city and it also had a "great alternative music scene", according to Pink.[6] Cusack said, "When I read the book I knew where everything was in Chicago. I knew where the American Rob went to school and dropped out, where he used to spin records, I knew two or three different record shops when I was growing up that had a Rob, a Dick and a Barry in them".[7] Charlotte Tudor, of the film's distributor, Buena Vista, said: "Chicago has the same feel as north London, there is a vibrant music scene, a lot of the action is set in smoky bars and, of course, there is the climate. But everyone, including Nick, felt that geography was not the central issue. It has a universal appeal".[8]
Cusack found that the greatest challenge adapting the novel was pulling off Rob Gordon's frequent breaking of the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience.[3] The screenwriters did this in order to convey Rob's inner confessional thoughts and were influenced by a similar technique in the Michael Caine film, Alfie.[3] Cusack rejected this approach because he thought that "there'd just be too much of me".[3] Once director Stephen Frears signed on to direct, he suggested using this technique and everyone agreed to use it.[3]
Cusack and the other writers thought of the idea to have Rob have a conversation with Bruce Springsteen in his head, inspired by a reference in Hornby's book where the narrator wishes he could handle his past girlfriends as well as the musician does in the song, "Bobby Jean" on Born in the U.S.A..[9] They never thought that they would actually get the musician to be in the film but that putting him in the script would get the studio excited about it.[3] Cusack knew Springsteen socially and called the musician up and pitched the idea. Springsteen asked for a copy of the script and afterwards agreed to do it.[3]
Casting
Frears was at the Berlin Film Festival and saw Mifune's Last Song starring Iben Hjejle and realized that he had found the actress for the role. The director read Hornby's book and enjoyed it but did not connect with the material because it was not about his generation.[10] He accepted the job because he wanted to work with Cusack again (they had worked together previously on The Grifters) and liked the idea of changing the setting from London to Chicago.[10] The director was also responsible for insisting on keeping Jack Black on as Barry.[10] Frears has said that many people from the studio would come to watch his rushes.[11]
Soundtrack
One of the challenges the screenwriters faced was figuring out which songs would go where in the film because Rob, Dick and Barry "are such musical snobs," according to Cusack.[3] He and his screenwriting partners listened to 2,000 songs and picked 70 song cues.[3]
| High Fidelity (Music from the Motion Picture) |
 |
| Soundtrack by Various artists |
| Released |
May 28, 2000 |
| Recorded |
1999 |
| Genre |
Soundtrack |
| Length |
65:01 |
| Label |
Hollywood |
| Professional reviews |
|
|
- "You're Gonna Miss Me" - 13th Floor Elevators
- "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" - The Kinks
- "I'm Wrong About Everything" - John Wesley Harding
- "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" - The Velvet Underground
- "Always See Your Face" - Love
- "Most of the Time" - Bob Dylan
- "Fallen for You" - Sheila Nicholls
- "Dry the Rain" - The Beta Band
- "Shipbuilding" - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
- "Cold Blooded Old Times" - Smog
- "Let's Get It On" - Barry Jive & The Uptown Five
- "Lo Boob Oscillator" - Stereolab
- "Inside Game" - Royal Trux
- "Who Loves the Sun" - The Velvet Underground
- "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" - Stevie Wonder
More music in the film
Songs mentioned in dialogue of film
Reaction
High Fidelity premiered at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. The post-party was held at the Sunset Room where Tenacious D performed.[12] The film was given a wide release on March 31, 2000, grossing $6.4 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross $27.3 domestically and $19.8 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $47.1 million.[13]
Reviews
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "Watching High Fidelity, I had the feeling I could walk out of the theater and meet the same people on the street — and want to, which is an even higher compliment".[14]
In his review for the Washington Post, Desson Howe praised Jack Black as "a bundle of verbally ferocious energy. Frankly, whenever he's in the scene, he shoplifts this movie from Cusack."[15]
In his review for the New York Times, Stephen Holden praised Cusack's performance, writing that he was "a master at projecting easygoing camaraderie, he navigates the transitions with such an astonishing naturalness and fluency that you're almost unaware of them."[16]
USA Today did not give the film a positive review: "Let's be kind and just say High Fidelity...doesn't quite belong beside Grosse Pointe Blank and The Sure Thing in Cusack's greatest hits collection. It's not that he isn't good. More like miscast."[17]
In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B-" rating and wrote, "In High Fidelity, Rob's music fixation is a signpost of his arrested adolescence; he needs to get past records to find true love. If the movie had had a richer romantic spirit, he might have embraced both in one swooning gesture."[18]
Peter Travers, in his review for Rolling Stone, wrote, "It hits all the laugh bases, from grins to guffaws. Cusack and his Chicago friends — D.V. DeVincentis and Steve Pink — have rewritten Scott Rosenberg's script to catch Hornby's spirit without losing the sick comic twists they gave 1997's Grosse Pointe Blank."[19]
In his review for The Guardian, Philip French wrote, "High Fidelity is an extraordinarily funny film, full of verbal and visual wit. And it is assembled with immense skill."[20]
Stephanie Zacharek, in her review for Salon.com, praised Iben Hjejle's performance: "Hjejle's Laura is supremely likable: She's so matter-of-fact and grounded that it's perfectly clear why she'd become exasperated with a guy like Rob, who perpetually refuses to grow up, but you can also see how her patience and calm are exactly the things he needs."[21]
After seeing the film, Hornby expressed his happiness with John Cusack's performance as Rob Gordon (changed from Rob Fleming in the book), saying, "At times, it appears to be a film in which John Cusack reads my book."[3]
Legacy
Empire magazine voted High Fidelity the 446th greatest film in their "500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list.[22] It is also ranked #14 on Rotten Tomatoes' 25 Best Romantic Comedies.[23]
References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=highfidelity.htm
- ^ http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2009/03/23/high-fidelity/
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Malanowski, Jamie (April 2, 2000). "Keeping Faith with High Fidelity". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/02/movies/film-keeping-faith-with-high-fidelity.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b Portman, Jamie (March 27, 2000). "Quirky John Cusack Embraces the Eccentric - Again". Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (March 31, 2000). "Cusack, in Tune with His Movies". USA Today.
- ^ Beale, Lewis (April 2, 2000). "Staying Faithful to High Fidelity". Daily News.
- ^ "John Cusack Takes Five". iofilm. http://www.iofilm.co.uk/feats/interviews/j/john_cusack.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Watson-Smyth, Kate (April 1, 2000). "A case of low fidelity as Hornby's novel translates awkwardly to film". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/a-case-of-low-fidelity-as-hornbys-novel-translates-awkwardly-to-film-721614.html. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (March 31, 2000). "Boss Cameo a Musical Coup". USA Today.
- ^ a b c Husband, Stuart (April 21, 2000). "Tracks of My Frears". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/apr/21/2. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Wood, Gaby (December 11, 2005). "The Observer Profile: Jack Black". The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1664609,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ Lyons, Charles (March 30, 2000). "Disney Tunes Up High". Variety.
- ^ "High Fidelity". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=highfidelity.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (March 31, 2000). "High Fidelity". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000331/REVIEWS/3310302/1023. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ Howe, Desson (March 31, 2000). "Turn It Up". Washington Post.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (March 31, 2000). "The Trivially Hip: A Music Geek's Warped Love Life". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/033100fidelity-film-review.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (March 31, 2000). "When Love Hits a Sour Note". USA Today.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (March 24, 2000). "High Fidelity". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,64593,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Travers, Peter (December 8, 2000). "High Fidelity". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947227/review/5947228/high_fidelity. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ French, Philip (July 23, 2000). "This one's a hit...". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/jul/23/philipfrench. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (March 31, 2000). "High Fidelity". Salon.com. http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2000/03/31/high_fidelity/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ "500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/500/11.asp. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ^ "25 Best Romantic Comedies". Rotten Tomatoes. 2009. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_romantic_comedies/1095420-high_fidelity/. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
Further reading
- "The Cusacks" by Scott Tobias. The Onion A.V. Club. March 29, 2000.
External links
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