Review: Nick and Norah’s Infintie Playlist
To rundown the plot, Nick is a heartbroken teenager who was recently dumped by the way too hot for him Triss. In several failed attempts to win her back Nick has made Triss mix tapes which have caught the eyes (or ears I guess) of Norah, a pseudo-friend of Triss’s. When we first see Nick he is holed up in his room leaving messages for Triss and is only coaxed out to do a gig with his band by the news that his favorite band, Fluffy, is doing a secret show somewhere in New York City. The movie then follows the group through the night as a series of coincidences put Nick and Norah together in NYC looking for Norah’s drunken friend and the secret show as well as answers to the questions posed by their newfound feelings for each other.
Michael Cera is an unlikely movie star, that’s what this movie has taught me. That is if you define a movie star as an actor that makes any movie he’s in watchable, despite the material. Nick and Norah is by no means a bad movie but Cera’s delivery has a way of making even mediocre lines laugh out loud funny. As a whole the movie is pretty predictable and follows the date movie template very closely with a side of hyper trendiness. Still, the cast makes the material enjoyable; Kat Dennings has a weird attractiveness about her that really grows on you. Caroline, Norah’s inebriated friend, is the comedic hidden gem of the film and Nick’s band mates, who are all gay, provide laughs in every scene they are in. Norah’s inebriated pal Caroline is a real hidden gem in this and brings with her not only the c The only real problems I had with this movie are issues that you see in most every romantic comedy but this one just felt like it was going to go for more realism and failed. Problem #1 is the ex girlfriend, the girl that plays Triss is about 80x’s too hot for Micheal Cera’s emo bass player even with the “I’m in a band” thing working on his side. Second is how quickly these intense strong feelings develop to the point where both parties are ready to forget whatever was bad in their lives before they met their new love. I get it, there’s only 90 minutes to tell the story and you want to have a happy ending, cool, fine. Can we at least make it believable?
All in all if you’re headed out for a first date this weekend or just want some time to enjoy a sweet story with your significant other check out Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. It’s an enjoyable albeit run of the mill story made just a little better by the great performances of the cast.
6/10
