When I first saw High Fidelity three years ago, it was for a screenplay-writing class at college.
The movie itself, I thought, was great. Stupendous. Absolutely brilliant.
And then three years later, I read the book.
...And then rewatched the movie again.
...And now I am not so sure.
Okay, I know reviews have been done for this book. Professional reviews, wittier reviews, funnier reviews. Face it, I'm better off just posting any opinion I have on Nick Hornby's novel on Amazon.com for some house frau's browsing amusement -- but since I do have a blog which subsequently means I am entitled (read: self-inflated ego) to share it with the world, nay -- the universe.
Main Beef's:
1. High Fidelity's Rob Fleming is pretty much a straight guy's version of Bridget Jones. His neurotic nature led me to wonder, "Are all men like this?" After consulting with top experts (a.k.a. the boyfriend), my conclusion is "No, not all men are like this. Only some men. Only really neurotic men." Rob Fleming is the sort of bloke that would probably address a log entry "Dear Diary" rather than the stoic "Journal Entry (Blank#)."
Not to insinuate that our boy Rob is effeminate, or that being sensitive is a bad thing. If anything, he's a sensitive asshole. Yup. That's the way to put it. A sensitive, self-absorbed asshole who talked way, way too much and too long about certain subjects that I felt compelled to skim certain passages. How's that for an insult?
2. Despite his monumental fuck-ups, Rob still has all of his relationship ties in the end. How does this reflect real life whatsoever? Okay, maybe I'm not giving enough credit. There is a definite amount of realism in the novel. If it were me, I'd be totally and utterly alone. My ex wouldn't even let me speak to him/her if I did any of the things he did.
3. Versus the Americanized movie version, it's a tough coin toss to decide which one tells the story better. The one with the steamy and at the same time adorable John Cusack -- or the spastic literary man-boy you just want to say "bollocks" to. In the end, it's probably best to judge the movie and the book as separate creatures. While the book gave more depth as far as insight into relationship dynamics, the movie gave a better ending in my opinion. Hornby chose to make it 'real' by never letting Rob grow anything but perhaps a smidge emotionally but in all other aspects of his life, he's stunted. At least in the film version, there was absolution on all fronts. No happy-Hollywood ending by any means, but still, it's something!
If I had to say which I liked better, my answer would be this: "If I wanted feel-good and short, I'd pick the movie. If I wanted depth and occasional frustration, I'd pick the book." There were instances in the movie where dialogue was mishmashed, spliced, cut, in order to create a more streamless experience. They even cut out one of the "Five Break-Up" gals and just shoved Rob's on-again-off-again girlfriend Laura into the slot. A purist would've shot themselves in the head, point-blank.
4. The women. Oh-my-good-lord. Maybe it's a gender thing, you know, writing from a point of view... like how men seem harsher in a female's work. Maybe it's the same for male writers, making women into senseless caricatures. Hornby tried with Laura. He tried to make her at once sympathetic and a bitch. She just came off as a bitch (who didn't know what she wanted). And then near the end, she was just bossy. In total she was a manipulative person who I didn't exactly care for.
Marie DeSalleBut that's that:
I like the novel for the reason that the more I reflected on it, the more I came to realize that Hornby embedded some pretty deep things underneath all that annoying pile of fuckle Rob kept building. For instance, I came to realize who my "Alison" was... who my "Sarah" was... and especially, who my "Charlie" was. In that sense, Hornby was a good writer. He created these five, six if you count Laura, archetyphecal relationships that could be applied to a good majority of people.
1. The Needy Relationship Where You're Afraid to Be Alone
2. The Inequal Relationship Where You're Secondguessing Yourself All The Time (otherwise known as That Flame That Still Drives You Bonkers)
3. The First One, the Big One
4. The Rejection of All Rejections
5. The One You Can't Have - So Because of That, You Really Really Want Him/Her
It's not a book I would like to read again. It's not a book I would really recommend to others. Hell, even the musical notions of the book seemed to be stretched a bit.
But guys might like it. I'm just a chick. What do I know? (Holden Caulfield, he's got your number.)
Good stuff:
Movie: Jack Black. This was pre-sell-out phase, before Nacho Libre and Be Kind Rewind, before he got even more fat and disgusting, only to be replaced by Jonah Hill, before all that bad stuff. This was the essence of Black, like this part was written specifically in mind for him. Memorable moments: when he remarked on Rob's Cosby sweater. Brilliant.
Book: Marie DeSalle had a much bigger role in the book. Really good vibes from that character, especially since she was probably the best female character in the whole book. It is regretful that she wasn't utilized in the movie more, but c'est la vie -- 2 hours can be stretched only so far.
