Before you read this, you must know that High Fidelity may be my favorite movie ever. At the very least, it is in the top five (ha). I have watched it many, many times, and it’s still wonderful and never gets old. I’ve been meaning to read the book for a long time, and finally did it last weekend.

It should go without saying that if you’ve never seen the movie or read the book and don’t want anything spoiled for you, you shouldn’t read this. You probably wouldn’t get it anyway.

At first, I thought that the biggest difference between the two would be Dick’s hair. In the book, it is long, dark and greasy. In the movie, his head is shaved. I did , of course, find fleshings-out in the book that didn’t fit into the movie, like more on Rob’s parents and a more prominent Marie DeSalle. In the book, she doesn’t walk out of the picture after sleeping with Rob. She’s more of a permanent friend of the gang.

But though the two versions kept about the same mood throughout, and actual events were almost identical, the conclusions were very different. Though, in the movie, Laura tells Rob that she’s getting back together with him because she’s too tired not to, you get the impression that it’s because he is Home to her, and she’s had it with trying to get away. In the book it seems more literal. She’s sick of his bugging her, and still kind of likes him, so she might as well move back in.Then, in the movie, everything is good. Sure, there’s the brief Caroline Episode, and Laura won’t marry him, but you know they’re going to stay together. The book, though, is less optimistic. I’m not sure if I can see Book Rob and Book Laura staying together forever. There’s a lot about them arguing, and they just don’t seem as happy. Everything’s still in flux, nothing has really been decided. I guess that’s a lot more realistic.

I typically disagree violently with movies rewriting sad endings to make them happier*, but I think I’m okay with it in this case. The book ending would have left the audience feeling like the movie was unfinished. We expect out movies wrapped up in a neat little package. We want to be able to accurately predict what will happen to each character in the next ten years. Or, at the very least, we want it obvious that there’s going to be a sequel. People are more forgiving with books, though. It’s okay if a book’s ending is ambiguous. Why is that? Maybe it’s because uncertain endings make you think more, and people feel more comfortable being made to think by books. I’m not sure. It’s an interesting question, though.

*This mostly applies to children’s movies. The Little Mermaid? Swan Lake? The Hunchback of Notre Dame? All are supposed to have endings in which the main character dies. I felt betrayed when I discovered the truth. You will lie to me no more, Disney!