I had high expectations of ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ – a film that combines indie music, youthful romance, ‘Juno’ star Michael Cera and one wild night chasing an after hours band in the big apple. It’s enough to bring out a little bit of the hipster in all of us. Who hasn’t had that night- that one night- that the universe upends itself and the unexpected happens; a night when the prototypical ‘cool guy’ doesn’t get the girl.
Nick (Cera) is nothing close to prototypical and at first glance, he’s far from extraordinarily cool. Nick has been dumped by Tris (Alexis Dziena), his girlfriend of several months, and dumped on his birthday nonetheless. To snap him out of his funk, his band mates lure him out to play a show followed by the promise of seeking out his favorite band Where’s Fluffy? at its surprise after hours performance somewhere in Manhattan.
Enter Norah, played by Kat Dennings. As she stands in the crowd and watches Nick’s band The Jerk Offs perform, she has no idea that her night is about to lead her away from a sleazy ex-boyfriend and into the arms of her musical soul mate.
Crazy twists and turns bring them together, tear them apart, and bring them together again all in the span of a ninety-minute film. Cera’s performance as Nick is all too similar to his character of Paulie Bleeker in ‘Juno.’ He’s awkward, shy and indecisive, but there’s a glimmer of underlying confidence in his performance that allows audience members relate to his character.
He’s not just a lost cause band boy hung up on a girl. We root for him because we can see that he wants it. He wants Norah, he wants adventure, he wants to be over it and as audience members we stick with him until his confidence is developed enough that we know he’ll be okay on his own. It lends a certain credibility to the film that these could be our friends, they could have- and do have- our problems.
Denning’s performance is stellar, as for not one minute could I imagine her as anyone but Norah. This movie really is a feel good film, and it appeals to guys and girls alike. I went with two girls and two guys, and it was loved by all. The killer sound track and amazing cinematography were two technical aspects we all agreed were excellently done.
The dialogue in ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ is scripted, but at the same time, they are our conversations. What made this movie truly great was that we’ve all been there. That place, that night, that relationship – the story holds true to reality and reminds us that love is waiting in the most unexpected places. It’s not an idealistic romantic comedy, it’s a boy meets girl story about anyone and everyone. Besides, everyone knows that real love like Nick and Norah’s is infinitely better than any big Hollywood romance could ever be.
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