Nick and Norah Sings a Catchy – if Familiar – Tune
Teenager Nick (Michael Cera) is a bassist for the New York indie band the Jerk-Offs and is still reeling from a brutal breakup with shallow girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena). After a gig inside the heart of the city he ends up meeting Norah (Kat Dennings), an attractive and quirky fellow teen who just happens to attend the same private school as his ex.
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings in Screen Gems' Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
One thing leads to another and suddenly the duo find themselves spending the night frantically following clues leading towards a secret concert by their favorite underground band Where’s Fluffy. They’re also trying to find Caroline (Ari Graynor), Norah’s best friend who’s both drunk and lost somewhere inside New York. Along the way the duo bicker, discuss, fight, talk about music, reveal surprising personal secrets and maybe, if they’re lucky, plant the seeds of a love worth singing about.
Based on the best-selling novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is light, bubbly and surprisingly sweet entertainment almost impossible to dislike. But it is just as difficult to fall entirely head over heels for, much of the picture playing like a series of extended skits all of which are more than a bit uncomfortably assembled into a somewhat unsatisfying whole.
Still, I never was bored watching director Peter Sollett’s (Raising Victor Vargas) latest concoction, and there were numerous times where I was actually downright exhilarated. This hodgepodge of Adventures in Babysitting, Juno, “Gossip Girl,” Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and High Fidelity is really quite beautiful every now and then, the two central figures bobbing around as if they were the bouncing ball following along atop a musical sing-along stanza.
The reason for this is two-fold. The first is that Sollett has an exquisite eye for detail that allows New York to become a delightfully energizing character inside the film. The second is the presence of Dennings. The first isn’t so shocking (The Big Apple has seldom has a problem standing out – see Breakfast at Tiffany’s for more information), the second borders on a revelation. As cute as she was in The House Bunny, as charming as she proved to be in Charlie Bartlett, this young actress sparkles like a neon-lit diamond here. She is adorably edgy and quirkily wonderful, and from now on (or, at least until a she lays a few eggs) any movie lucky enough to have her in it immediately rises to the top of my gotta see list.
I wish I could say the same about Cera. Don’t get me wrong, the Superbad star is as pleasant and as invigorating as ever, but while I still hold the actor is a wonderful young talent full of potential this is three films in a row where he’s played pretty much the exact same character. What are differences between Nick and Paulie and Evan? What are the internal mechanisms that make them unique? The simple fact is I don’t know, and if this kid doesn’t pull something a bit new or different out of his hat soon I can pretty much guarantee audiences are gong to start losing interest.
That I did not lose interest here is a testament to his still engaging charm, the director’s lightly invigorating touch and Dennings star-making effervescence. While I can’t say this one blew me away or that it captured my attention start to finish, the scenes where it did work were so wonderfully engaging and sweetly intoxicating I can’t help but feel good about the whole even with these flaws. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a solid effort, and like a good B-side on a hit record it sings a catchy tune difficult to remember yet perfectly easy to hum.
Film Rating: êê1/2 (out of 4)
Additional Links:
- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Theatrical Trailer
