Rob makes “Top Five” lists. Movies, villains, musical artists, heartbreaks. Rob has a Top Five for everything, and while looking straight into the camera, she’ll tell them all to you. “High Fidelity” has returned and may very well deserve a place on your next Top Five list.
In a reimagination of the Nick Hornby novel and 2000 film of the same name, Hulu’s new TV series “High Fidelity” updates its record-shop love story for 2020. Starring Zoë Kravitz (“Big Little Lies”) as Rob, this series rewrites its own story with a fresh image of living and dating in New York City.
Rob, in addition to making constant Top Five lists, owns a record store where she works with her friends Simon (David H. Holmes, “Mindhunter”) and Cherise (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “Dolemite Is My Name”). After a particularly devastating breakup with number five on her “Top Five Heartbreaks” list, Rob decides to revisit her list and investigate what exactly has prevented her from finding true love.
As Rob reluctantly reopens her past, ex-boyfriend No. 5 Mac (Kingsley Ben-Adir, “Peaky Blinders”) returns from London after moving away the year before and brings a new fiancé back with him. Now confronted with a choice between making amends or wallowing in self-pity, Rob begins the dreaded process of “getting back out there” and opening herself back up to the world.
Unlike previous versions of Rob, Kravitz’s character struggles not only with navigating her love life, but also with her position as a black, queer, small business owner in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood. The New York of “High Fidelity” is the New York often ignored by TV — looking at you, “Sex and the City”and “Girls.”
“High Fidelity” maintains an atmosphere that matches cynicism and social critique equally with lighthearted fun and humor. Much like the original novel and film, “High Fidelity” addresses the topics of unrequited love and unbridled music snobbery with the snark and occasional earnestness that unites millenials and Gen X. Rob, obsessed with music history and pop culture, presents a paradoxical image of youth that is both lost and found.
Between long rants about the history of the Beatles or the indifference of the universe, “High Fidelity” captures the confusing, soul-sucking process of recovering from bad relationships and allows its audience to enjoy the sadness and absurdity that ensues in the process. Despite Rob’s persistent negativity and self-doubt, “High Fidelity” offers a realistic and, at times, heart-warming response to modern dating culture.
This iteration of the “High Fidelity” story also includes the most important aspect of the original: an absolutely killer soundtrack. Both the book and film relied heavily on music as its language for expressing Rob’s journey, and the Hulu show pulls no punches with its mix of hip hop, disco, punk, French pop, ’90s R&B and unapologetic guilty-pleasure songs.
In accordance with its source material, the spirit of “High Fidelity” is carefully preserved in its 2020 update. The Hulu series makes significant amendments to the original version but executes its vision with wit and artistic flair. In its first season, “High Fidelity” has already staked its claim for a place in this year’s “Top Five TV Shows.”