High Fidelity: Book vs. Movie

It's rare that I like the movie version of a book better than the book itself. In the case of High Fidelity this is so. Maybe it's because I saw (and loved) the movie before I read the book, but I think the film is better than the novel for the following reasons:

- The main character Rob seems slightly less self-indulgent (and slightly more likable) in the movie than in the book. I'm not sure if Rob is meant to be a completely likable character, but I liked picturing him as more of a sweet John Cusack type than the schmoe-y, self-centered character in the book. Writing lends itself to self-indulgence, with page after page of first-person musings on music and philosophy of life and relationships, where the movie is thankfully restricted to briefer monologues of Rob's musings.

- The movie is more focused than the novel. The movie retains the best scenes and lines from the book, and the changes made from the book to the movie make the story sharper and not so anticlimactic, i.e. minimizing Marie LaSalle's character and having Rob start a record label at the end.

- A book with so many obscure music references needs a medium with a soundtrack. Who's heard of Solomon Burke, or "The Ghetto" by Donny Hathaway or "Nelson Mandela" by The Specials? Unless you're a music fanatic like the author, you're lost. If you've seen the film you know it has an amazing soundtrack.

- Thank you to the filmmakers for changing the setting to Chicago from London and casting American actors. Yes, I'm biased because I'm an American, but it made the movie version more relatable to me and therefore more enjoyable. Can you imagine John Cusack and Jack Black donning fake British accents? Ugh.

- Which leads me to casting, which is pitch perfect in the movie. John Cusack as Rob, Jack Black as Barry, Todd Louiso as Dick, Iben Hjejle as Laura, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Charlie, Lisa Bonet as Marie LaSalle, etc. Perfection. The filmmakers did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

I guess I can't knock the book too much since it is the inspiration for the movie. I think the movie just kicked it up a notch and made the story that much better, a can of Sprite rather than a glass of lemonade. It's the brilliance of Nick Hornby without so much of the self-indulgence.