Well, I don't know. The further one goes back on the IMDb 'Top 250' lists, the quality of pictures that made it seems to get weaker and weaker, and here's an example. "High Fidelity" was at #205 in the year 2000 when it first came out, dropping to #241 the following year. That it doesn't appear again since should not surprise discerning movie watchers. It's entertaining enough if stuff like this is your thing, but really, should a twelve year old that you made out with once for a total of six hours over the course of three days be on your Top Five All-Time Break Up List? By the end of the story, you'll more than realize that Rob Gordon (John Cusack) seriously needs to get a life. But by that time, you'll probably be bored to tears over his incessant barrage on the fourth wall of your viewing screen.

I will say I got a kick out of Jack Black's character Barry, the snobbishly arrogant music fan who works at Rob's 'Championship Vinyl' record shop. The same with Dick (Todd Louiso), but come to think of it, do you think they collected a paycheck there? I tend to doubt it, as most of the time, it was only the three of them in the store at any given time. And this is the only time I've ever seen Lisa Bonet as an adult after all those years as Cliff Huxtable's daughter on 'The Cosby Show'. So that was a surprise, and a very good looking one too.

The one thing I'll agree with though is that "Books, records, films..., these things matter", otherwise I wouldn't be posting reviews here on IMDb. But as a service to adults over say, the age of thirty, save yourself the frustration of sitting thought this picture. Chances are you lived through the angst of this story yourself already, and who needs to be reminded of all that? And if you have your own Top Five list of All-Time Break Ups, better chuck it before the wife or significant other find it, or you'll be talking to the TV yourself.

Here we have a British/American movie from 15 years ago, which runs for roughly 110 minutes. It is directed by Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), who also made the wonderful "Philomena" a while ago, but somehow his effort here did not appeal to me very much. One major reason may be John Cusack. He seems a likable fellow, but as an actor I just don't think he is particularly talented. When he was very young, in his early 20s or so, I remember people thought he would be a real superstar one day, but not really. This film was made in 2000, but somehow, maybe also because of Cusack, it comes off as a lot older to me, maybe because all of the references about music, mostly older music. Another thing that did not appeal to me was Jack Black's character. He came off as extremely unlikeable and I totally cannot see why the main character would want to be his friend. He seems arrogant, self-righteous and totally looks down on everybody around him. And the worst: We are even supposed to like him with his performance near the end. Louiso's character on the other hand was the exact opposite: shy and not confident at all and it was nice to see him get a girlfriend.

Another thing that did not appeal to me at all was Cusack's character constantly breaking the fourth wall here. I am generally not a fan of this technique, but here it became fairly annoying really. I mean he always gives off this vibe that we totally want to know what was going on with his relationships and the people in his life, but honestly I found all the characters in this movie so dull and unappealing for the most part that I just wasn't interested at all. The performances were pretty forgettable too, especially Black's, but I guess it's not really his fault as he was written that way probably. It just did not fit in my opinion. The central female character is played by Iben Hjejle and her portrayal also wasn't memorable at all. There's a reason why her Hollywood movie times have been a thing of the past for a long time now. I found this a very forgettable effort from everybody involved. Not recommended, unless you really are a huge music geek. Then all those references about records and songs will maybe make it bearable for you. But everybody who isn't should better stay away.

Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is broken up after his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) leaves him. He's in his 30s and owns a specialty record store in a bad neighborhood. Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black) are his weird snobbish employees. Rob recalls the list of his great loves lost. He has to grow up if he's to get Laura back.

Along with their encyclopedic knowledge of music, these are some crazy characters. Director Stephen Frears is able to infuse them with likability. It's slyly humorous. Jack Black almost steals the movie with Todd Louiso as his perfect foil. Iben Hjejle has a maturity with a hint of a wild youth. It's also imminently rewatchable.