Jack Black, whose Kung Fu Panda opens this week, seemed to move awfully quickly from rising star to overexposed. His always-moving, rock 'n' roll persona seems to be everywhere, turning up in several movies a year, always pitched at the same high level. It's all too easy to concentrate on his most annoying performances, as lazy fast-talkers, or selfish schemers in films like Saving Silverman, Shallow Hal, Envy and The Holiday. But a closer look at his filmography shows more than a few samples of the Jack Black that we initially liked and elevated to stardom.

1. High Fidelity (2000)
This was the first time Black came onto my radar, although he had previously been in at least 30 other movies and TV shows. It's arguably the first time he tapped into the Jack Black persona for the length of an entire movie, and he was nicely fitted in the mix between cool, confused John Cusack and Todd Louiso (as the withdrawn music nerd). His was a supporting role, rather than a lead, which is the best place for a character actor of his caliber. Moreover, Black played a nerd with a wide-ranging knowledge of music, implying that he was at least using his brain for something (as opposed to many of his other films). As for his performance, he showed enough natural, unhinged exuberance (especially in his surprise rendition of "Let's Get It On") that, frankly, he deserved an Oscar nomination.

After this weekend hits, I wouldn't be surprised if Forgetting Sarah Marshall becomes the quintessential break-up movie. But even if it doesn't, the comedy will go down in the record books for being that romcom about the really heart-broken and pissed off dude whose story lathered ad spaces everywhere with lovely messages like: "You Suck Sarah Marshall," and made Sarah Marshalls across the US wonder what they did to deserve that.

But there's still a ton of other flicks out there that deal with break-ups -- way too many to even begin to name. But while each of them has heartbreak on their sleeve, they all tackle the issue in different ways. In honor of Peter Bretter's broken heart, here are seven other men who have had their hearts broken on-screen, all for the sake of comedy. Check these out and then weigh in with your favorites. Annie Hall? The Break-Up? The Philadelphia Story? Say Anything? Swingers?

The Nasty Letter -- Overnight Delivery

Wyatt Tripps (Paul Rudd) didn't want much in his happy co-ed experience, just Kimberly Jasney (Christine Taylor)... and one more thing: sex. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that while he's been writing Kim romantic notes and thinking about how much he'll miss her on Valentine's Day, she's been humping the Ricker -- a notion that ruins his dream of white picket fences, kids, and maybe even a house. Sure, he ends up on a spastic road trip with Ivy Miller (Reese Witherspoon) to stop the letter with loving phrases like "cellulite-packed cactuses that you call thighs," and finds real love, but before that, he has a good cry in his cocoa and a lot of humiliation.

Although the audio tape is pretty much dead, people still love making mix tapes, even if they now come in CD form. It's funny how this ritual of appreciation has transcended age and time. We used to scour radio stations for the perfect mix of songs, and now we whip up aural delights from thousands of mp3s. Mixes were useful to tell that certain boy or girl that you liked them in school, and today we often send mixes to say hello, or to gently shake a person and show them all the good music that they are missing.

There's also no short supply of movies that have absolutely fantastic soundtracks that work like a visual mix tape, sending the viewer through an optical pathway of music, sometimes even bringing new meaning and depth to the tunes that are played. While I would love to gush about Beethoven's music set to drama in Immortal Beloved, or even the brilliance that is Simon and Garfunkle in The Graduate, this space is reserved for the films with varied soundtracks full of a myriad of sounds and artists, which somehow all morph together into a cohesive and enjoyable whole. Sometimes they are just great collections of music, and sometimes they completely make you rethink something you might have heard many times before. If only I could list 14, or even 21! But I can't, so here are 7 films to inspire you into a mix-making frenzy:

High Fidelity

This almost seems like cheating, being such an obvious and no-brainer sort of choice, but you really can't talk about the power of mix tapes and movies without talking about the film that is all about creating musical mixes that portray slices of life. John Cusack stars as Rob Gordon, the music store owner who is at a crossroads in his life -- his serious girlfriend is leaving him, and through music, he delves into his less-than-desirable relationships with women. The beauty of this movie's soundtrack is how many different slices of music it tastes -- from the melodic Dry the Rain from The Beta Band to Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady. The old is mixed with the new, introducing us to what we might not have heard, while reminding us of songs we might have forgotten.

Broadway will give High Fidelity the boot after only a tiny ten-day run, as the show will close its theatre doors on Sunday, December 17 after receiving bland reviews and crippling box office sales. The play was adapted from its most original form -- a novel written by Nick Hornby --then turned into a film back in 2000. The film, unlike the musical, received rave reviews and big box office sales that subsequently helped it take home a lot more than its production costs -- especially honorable for being an independent film. High Fidelity (the film, not the musical)stars heavyweights John Cusack and Jack Black; story revolves around a music snob and record store owner who struggles with his life's top five breakups (women, not bands). He spends the film relating periods of his life back to the musical greats and figuring out the universal human crisis of what is love and where is ones place in it.

High Fidelity is probably one of my favorite films of all time -- actually, as you read this, it's sitting in my DVD player. In fact, I may even turn it on for inspiration. When I heard awhile back that they were making a musical about it, I had mixed emotions. First of all -- I hate musicals. I hate them. The only musical that I do enjoy is Cabaret. I'm convinced that in order for me to enjoy a musical the actors have to be in their underwear -- not any underwear, mind you -- but underwear circa the 1930s. Then it also has to involve the Holocaust. I've tried others. I saw Rent. Hated it. I saw Boy from Oz. I don't even want to talk about it. Musicals and I simply do not mix.

The one glimmer of hope for me was the film's already incredible soundtrack. If they were somehow able to incorporate what was already done music-wise in the film to the stage then maybe I would have liked it.

Well, if High Fidelity were to stay open longer then I would have probably made an attempt to see it during my trip back to New York. But Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller -- producers of High Fidelity: The Musical -- saved me from my abusive relationship with such theatre productions. I'll simply have to wait until its revival pops up somewhere in Los Angeles ... where theatre is even better.

I'm sure everyone goes through a brief period in their life where they've realized certain things about past relationships and wish they can dig up the contact info for some old significant others in order to somehow make things right between the two and within themselves. Heck, Rob (John Cusack) did it in the film High Fidelity (based off my favorite Nick Hornby book) after the thirty-something record shop owner found himself suffering through a mid-life crisis.

Well, along the lines of Rob's list of his top five most memorable breakups comes Susan Shapiro's romance memoir Five Men Who Broke My Heart, which Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (authors of The Nanny Diaries, which was also turned into a film and will be released next year) will adapt for the big screen. Story revolves around a woman (in this case, Shapiro) who, approaching the age of 40, decides to look up five of her old boyfriends in an attempt to figure out why they dumped her. Since no casting decisions have been made yet (although I have a feeling they will target Renée Zellweger), how about we try to come up with a list of actresses (around the age of 40) who would be great in a role like this? I'll go first: Catherine Keener.

It's not every day that we write up film promotions here on Cinematical. But then again, it's not every day someone sends me a picture of someone dressed up like a ... a ... giant sperm. Now, I don't know what it would take to get me to dress up like a giant sperm and serve drinks at a party, but I'm pretty sure it would have to be a hell of a lot more than they're paying this guy.

The sperm pic came attached to a press release about a promo for new film Accepted, which comes out August 11. The film is about a group of friends who, when rejected by every college they apply to, decide to make a fake college to convince their parents that they got into a school. The students at the fake school -- South Harmon Institute of Technology -- have to struggle to maintain the illusion their school is real, and end up competing with a snooty exclusive neighboring college.

Now this is a musical I would wait in line for. When I first read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, although I picked up on only half of his musical references (not my best subject), I fell in love with his writing, his characters and their world. Even the film version, which starred John Cusack and a relatively unknown (at the time) Jack Black, climbed its way onto one of my own top ten lists. Top ten movies of all time? Um, not so much. Top ten films starring John Cusack that I'd actually pay money to go see? Maybe ... although I'm not so sure I can even think of ten.

So, one can understand how very thrilled I am that High Fidelity is set to hit Broadway with a musical version this winter. I've always wondered when one of Hornby's books would become a musical. Seeing as how each of his novels practically sports its own kick-ass soundtrack, it leads one to wonder what the hell took so long. Perhaps Fidelity was/is the easiest of the bunch to adapt, being that it's the most recognizable and, well, is set in a record shop. Whatever the case may be, here's hoping they cast the right folks. Sorry Mr. Cusack, you're a bit past your prime for this one.