film - High Fidelity film
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More like miscast. 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. 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 his lost girlfriend Laura and does his best to win her back. Nick Hornby s book was optioned by Disney s Touchstone Pictures in 1995 where it went into development for three years. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. High Fidelity premiered at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.
And it is assembled with immense skill. 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. 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. Empire magazine voted High Fidelity the 446th greatest film in their 500 Greatest Movies of All Time list. . It s not that he isn t good.
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. The post-party was held at the Sunset Room where Tenacious D performed. 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 . In his review for the Washington Post, Desson Howe praised Jack Black as a bundle of verbally ferocious energy.
If the movie had had a richer romantic spirit, he might have embraced both in one swooning gesture. Peter Travers, in his review for Rolling Stone, wrote, It hits all the laugh bases, from grins to guffaws. 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. In his review for The Guardian, Philip French wrote, High Fidelity is an extraordinarily funny film, full of verbal and visual wit.
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. 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 . 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.
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. 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.
Cusack and his Chicago friends — D.V. High Fidelity is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack.
