Tuesday, October 06, 2020

TV Tuesday: High Fidelity

My "alone time" for TV watching is pretty minimal these days, with a full house, but I like to find a good half-hour show that I can squeeze into my rare solitude for a little downtime! My latest pick was High Fidelity, a Hulu show based on the 2000 movie starring John Cusack (and on the original Nick Hornsby novel), with a modern twist.

In a gender switch, Zoe Kravitz (daughter of musician Lenny Kravitza and actress Lisa Bonet) stars as Rob, the owner of a record store who loves to make Top 5 lists. Here, the record store is located in so-cool and of-the-moment Brooklyn. Rob's best friends and record store colleagues are Simon (played by David H. Holmes), a gay, self-conscious guy, and Cherise (played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph), an exuberant, sharp-talking woman who dreams of being the lead singer in a band. As in the movie (and novel), the show is structured around Rob recounting her Top 5 Heartbreaks of All Time, as she tries to figure out why none of her relationships work and why she is still alone in her 30's. Mac, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, is the handsome British guy who was Rob's latest heartbreak. He's just moved back from London, so the love and the break-up are suddenly front and center for Rob again. Meanwhile, Clyde, played by Jake Lacy, is a new man in Rob's life (sort of). The 10 episodes not only go through Rob's heartbreak list but also delve into the lives of her friends and lovers (past and present). Through it all, music is a constant thread, with great, unusual background music playing in the record store and the Top 5 lists of the three record store employees.

Although this show is centered on heartbreak, it's a whole lot of fun. The music provides a great backdrop to the story, and there is plenty of humor as well. Kravitz and her co-stars do a wonderful job of inhabiting their quirky characters so that you come to care for them and root for them, as they all grow and evolve. Rob is kind of a mess here, but as she works through her past heartbreaks, I wanted her to come out of it healthier and happier. I loved the music and the Top 5 lists and the witty banter among the friends. The writing is excellent! It's a great show for some fun and escape, which was just what I was looking for.

High Fidelity is a Hulu original, so it is available only on Hulu.


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