[Nerdspresso] 'High Fidelity' still rocks, but Rob hits a sour note

By Jeff Stanford, Special to Southpoint Access

More than 25 years ago, when my wife and I were dating, we used to go to the movies. A lot. It was our date night thing. It was also our Saturday afternoon thing and kind of our rainy Sunday thing. So, yeah, we liked going to the movies. We had a lot more free time and disposable income back then. One of those movies was “High Fidelity” with John Cusack.

I remember this flick being a quirky comedy about a cool dude stymied by love. He owned a hipster record store and spent the movie trying to figure out why he was so bad at the love thing. There were also many scenes of him talking about old records and pop culture with his co-workers. The movie had a great aging slacker vibe and a real sense of place.

“High Fidelity” was directed by Stephen Frears, whose other films include Oscar bait like “Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Grifters,” and “The Queen.” But he wasn’t slumming here. He delivered a bittersweet love letter to romance, vinyl, Chicago, and growing up, all wrapped up in a funny, honest package with an awesome cast.

The script, co-written by Cusack, was an adaptation of a clever, funny, and sincere novel by Nick Hornby. He also penned “About a Boy” and “Fever Pitch,” which eventually became amusingly romantic movies. “High Fidelity” transports the book’s characters from London to Chicago, but the premise remains the same.