TMR 023 – High Fidelity

Total Movie Recall

High Fidelity (2000)

d. Stephen Frears

Starring:John CusackIben HjejleTodd LouisoJack BlackLisa BonetCatherine Zeta-JonesJoan CusackTim Robbins

This week on Total Movie Recall, Steve and Ryan compare the soul sapping abyss of their previous relationships with that of Rob from High Fidelity. Steve talks about hunting down ex-girlfriends to demand answers and Ryan weighs the significance of romance in your teens vs. in your twenties. They both lament the demise of the mix tape and agree that Chicago is an awesome city.

Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is the owner of a failing record store in Chicago, where he sells music the old-fashioned way -- on vinyl. Although they have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music and are consumed by the music scene, it's of no help to Rob, whose needle skips the love groove when his long-time girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), walks out on him. As he examines his failed attempts at romance and happiness, the process finds him being dragged, kicking and screaming, into adulthood.

Things discussed in the show:

Welcome Back Kotter

Film in Chicago

Vice Documentaries vs. National Geographic

Georgia Guidestones

The Martian - Matt Damon

The Revenant, Room

The Oscars and white people

CitizenFour

Fleetwood Mac, Otis Redding, The Carpenters, Blink 182, Joni Mitchell

Sara Gilbert

Stiff Little Fingers, The Beta Band

Beans and Bagels, Spoken Cafe

Touch & Go Records

Apocalypse Hoboken, Nil8

Skunk Ape!?

Lounge Ax, Double Door, Chicago Reader, Biograph Theater, Three Penny Theater

Mazzy Star, Pearl Jam, The Cure, Nick Drake, Ben Folds, Wilco, My Bloody Valentine, Shalloboi, Belle and Sebastian, Modest Mouse, Leonard Cohen

Lily Tomlin vs. Lili Taylor

L.A. Confidential, Beverly Hills Cop

The Professional - Luc Besson, Natalie Portman

Sin City

Kuffs - Christian Slater

Suspiria - Dario Argento

Lars Von Trier - The Element of Crime, Europa

Amelie

The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

Next week: Oldboy