High Times

I recently saw High Fidelity for the first time, the romantic comedy starring John Cusack as a disgruntled record store owner whose latest breakup makes him examine the worst of his past relationships. There are a good number of movies out there that play around in a similar space. You could mark this movie on a timeline and see what it borrowed from compared to what it later inspired, but regardless, you're likely to compare it to many other movies you've seen.

Clerks, for example, is a stronger movie about misanthropic store clerks. Clerks II, for that matter, is a better movie about slacker-adults in a third-life crisis. For my money, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a funnier "breakup movie."

But none of that really means that High Fidelity isn't good. It's actually still quite enjoyable to watch, and much of that has to do with John Cusack. His performance balances the right amounts of brooding, wit, sarcasm, and occasional sweetness, and makes the movie better than I imagine it would otherwise be. He pulls off the "talking straight to the camera" thing better than nearly any other actor.

I wouldn't say the movie ever generates big laughs or big emotions, but it is fun from beginning to end. I'd give it a B-, and a general (if not wildly enthusiastic) recommendation.