What I Watched -- High Fidelity

Would you believe it if I told you that the first time I saw this movie, I was actually at a movie theater? I hardly ever see movies at the theater anymore, but this was way back when, and I was in Cincinnati for a few days. What better to do than see a movie?

I have seen High Fidelity, based on a book of the same name by Nick Hornby, a handful of times since, and watched it the other night with K. What a good idea that was on our part. (Thanks to T for having the DVD readily accessible. K borrowed that, by the way.)

High Fidelity is the story of Rob, a sad sack record store owner who spends the film counting down his top five all-time breakups, along with many other mostly-music-related top fives. If you're into music, the movie speaks for itself. It's as though Rob, the "professional appreciator," and his two hapless employees are having a love affair with it.

Even if you're not that into music, though, it's still a sweet story. Rob, as I mentioned, is pretty hopeless in love. Laura, his now ex-girlfriend, isn't much better, although she puts on a prettier face about it. Through the course of the film, you learn the history of their relationship, and the problems they had: Rob cheated, Laura kept secrets, Rob lacked ambition, Laura wanted to get serious, etc. Nothing extraordinary, which is what makes them relatable. In the end, their story is an honest, a-little-bit-depressing, but-also-a-little-bit-romantic look at how we find our partner, and whether the act of finding is all we thought it would be.

Bottom line: thoroughly enjoyable, even after all this time. It's sort of a grown-up version of Empire Records, for those who will get that reference. Good soundtrack, too.