'High Fidelity' isn't top-five list material

Nick Hornby's 1995 bestselling novel, "High Fidelity," has a rabid fan base. And the creators of the new movie of the book therefore have some heavy expectations hanging over their heads. At the same time, the screenwriters and co-producers of "High Fidelity" — John Cusack, Steve Pink and D. V. DeVincentis — were also responsible for 1997's "Grosse Point Blank," another cult favorite about male insecurities. If anyone was going to translate Hornby's fabulous novel for the screen, these guys would be the ones to do it.

And done it they have. Though the new film barely begins to approach the insight and humor contained in the novel, it is nonetheless an amusing and enjoyable effort and in many ways, remains remarkably true to the spirit of Hornby's work.

"High Fidelity" is the story of Rob Gordon (John Cusack), an average guy in his mid-30s who owns an independent record store in Chicago (a relocation from the book's North London setting). Rob's musings about love, life, work and, as the film's slogan says, "other pop favorites," form the main body of the film, with a central focus on Laura (Iben Hjejle) — Rob's most recent girlfriend, who, as the film opens, has decided to leave him.

The other main sphere of existence in the movie is the world of Championship Vinyl, Rob's record store. His employees are "the musical moron twins," Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black). Rob, Barry and Dick pride themselves on their superior – and somewhat esoteric – musical knowledge, and deride the unenlightened masses who shop in their store.

One of the motifs of the book that is maintained in the movie is the fact that these three characters compulsively measure things in terms of top-five lists — top-five track-one, side-one songs; top-five songs to play on a Monday morning; and top-five songs about death. For these guys, "it's what you like, not what you are like" that's important.

This compulsive categorizing crosses into Rob's personal life. When Laura leaves, he immediately rates where she stands on his "desert island, all-time, top-five breakups." Though at first, he leaves her off the list entirely, he later realizes that she ranks up there with his other life-changing relationships, and it is this realization that signifies Rob's new-found maturity.

Director Stephen Frears has done an admirable job of capturing the mundane nature of Rob's existence. Cusack, with his well-known "every guy" persona, is the ideal actor to play an "every guy" like Rob. As Laura, Danish actress Hjejle is charming. The scenes between Rob and Laura, however, while hilarious in the book, come off as merely depressing when they appear on screen.

Because much of the relationship humor of the script falls flat, the comedic emphasis is shifted to the world of Championship Vinyl. Here the movie fulfills all the promise of Hornby's novel. Black and Louiso perfectly capture the opposites of aggresive Barry and meek Dick. Hornby's narration is not needed to explain what these characters are thinking: You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices.

"High Fidelity" is a perfectly appealing romantic comedy. The film is much more sucessful, however, when it focuses on male friendships, rather than male-female relationships. And while the casual, relaxed style of acting and filmmaking certainly make for an enjoyable few hours, "High Fidelity" sadly doesn't belong on the top-five list of movies in 2000.