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Parents' Guide to

High Fidelity

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Book-based romantic drama has cursing, smoking, sex.

Movie R 2000 113 minutes
High Fidelity Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

Ian F.
Ian F. Parent
October 29, 2018
age 15+

Great Comedy For Older Teens And Music Lovers!

"High Fidelity" is a perfect breakup film for anyone who has had their heart stomped on. Rob (John Cusack) is so self absorbed he loses the woman he loves and it finally forces him to reflect on his life's romantic journey to find out where it all went wrong. It's also a movie about music and what popular music manufactures in our souls. The film leans pretty heavily on foul language (not potty language but cursing) and there are some scenes of implied sex but it's not really depicted on screen . A woman straddles a man in a car while fully clothed after expressing a desire for sex, a couple is heard moaning from the next room, and another couple is shown embracing while nude but covered by blankets. Pretty tame for teens all things said. I would call the only violent scene in the film to be "cartoony" in how absurd it is and how it is played for exaggerated comedy (a character imagines a scenario wherein he and his friends beat up his former partner's new boyfriend). All in all, this is a film older teens (and older teen music-lovers) would immediately hook into. Save it for high school and you'll have a good time with it.
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What's the Story?

In HIGH FIDELITY, Rob Gordon (John Cusack) owns a vintage record store called Championship Vinyl. Only the two hopeless guys who work for him (Jack Black and Todd Luiso) make him feel like a grown-up by comparison. They sit around all day, getting rid of potential customers who are just not cool enough to be allowed to buy their records, endlessly ranking everything in the world. They hyper-critically rate everything except for their own sorry lives. His girlfriend Laura's departure prompts Rob to make a list of his five worst break-ups, which allows him to comfort himself that she is not even on the list. But as he tracks down the five on the list to see if he can figure out what went wrong, he begins to admit to himself that he is deeply wounded, and not just because he feels threatened and competitive at the thought of her new love interest (Tim Robbins). He has to allow himself to understand that "fantasies always seem really great because there aren't any problems," but that he needs to move on to reality.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Rob spends more time talking to viewers than he does to any of the other characters in the movie, which is part of the problem. He asks the audience, "Do I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?" His candor and charm, both considerable, have allowed him to carry his adolescence through his 20s, and he's much more comfortable concocting the definitive list of the best side-one, track-one songs ever than he is thinking about, say, the definitive list of worthwhile things to do with his life. And he has to allow himself to be a little less self-obsessed. Fortunately, the "professional appreciator" is wise enough to see how special Laura is, and that he can't just "create a sketch of a decent, sensitive guy;" he can actually become one. Best for teens who like romantic dramas.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about relationship movies. How does this compare to other movies in which the lead character is single and trying to find a lasting relationship?

  • This movie was based on the novel by Nick Hornby. What would be the challenges in adapting a novel into a movie?

  • How was music used throughout the movie -- to define the characters, drive the story, and heighten the movie's themes?

Movie Details

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