After seeing the trailer for 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,' I joked to a friend that if someone were to design a movie specifically for me, this would probably be it. Let's break it down.
'Nick and Norah' appeared to be...
a) a teen comedy with a better than average chance of being good...
b) with a dash of whimsy and unabashed romanticism...
d) that takes place over the course of one night...
d) from an up-and-coming director with an indie pedigree...
e) featuring two appealing young stars...
f) and a hip indie music soundtrack.
I suppose if none of the above appeal to you, it probably won't matter whether I liked the movie or not. But if you can accept my claim to be able to fairly judge something so in tune with my sensibilities, you should read on. (footnote: I point to one 'Juno' as a film that seemed so right up my alley, yet left me a little cold. Good movie - cute even - but not in my top ten of the year.)
Nick (Michael Cera) is a music nut who has recently been dumped. He wallows in his lingering unrequited love by making a series of "closure" mix CDs with elaborate packaging. Norah (Kat Dennings) goes to school with Nick's ex, Tris (Alexis Dziena), and enjoys the discarded CDs that Tris laughingly trashes. Fate brings the two together at a nightclub where Nick's band is playing. In a bid to save face, Norah approaches Nick and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend. When Norah discovers Nick is Tris' ex, she wants to take off, but Nick's bandmates see this as an opportunity to revive him from depression.
The rest of the film weaves a budding romance around a the search for a secret show by a band called Where's Fluffy? as well as the search for Norah's lost (and drunken) friend, Caroline. Threatening to pull the star-crossed lovers apart before they realize their destiny are Tal (Jay Baruchel), Norah's "friend with benefits" and Nick's ex, Tris, who seems jealous at the idea that Nick would ever stop pining for her.
On the surface, there's nothing incredibly original about 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.' The more cynical might just write it off as a well-worn story grafted on to a hipster milieu for a quick cash in. But those who are willing to look deeper might notice a sincerity sorely missed in most films of this kind. I was captivated by the movie's youthful exuberance and it really drew out the hopeless romantic in me.
Both Cera and Dennings are incredibly appealing young actors who have a way with dialogue that comes off improvised and natural. Some scenes recall the breezy charm of Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in 'Before Sunrise.' Cera and Dennings also infuse the characters' choices with believability, which is essential to accepting the various coincidences of the plot. Not to sell short the screenplay by Lorene Scafaria (based on a novel by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan), which is smart enough to turn a corner at such moments, rather than stacking something more unbelievable on top of them.
Kudos also go to Scafaria for building characters with emotional attachments and not exaggerated libidos. Sexuality is present and accounted for, but not as an overwhelming force that permeates the entire story. Incidentally, the film's most explicit moment is probably the most creative and tasteful presentation of youthful sexuality I've seen in a while.
Of course, I would be remiss to overlook the contribution that a talented director brings to the table on a film like this. Peter Sollett infuses 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' with an engaging whimsy and a genial disposition that never comes off as corny. Sollett is a native New Yorker and the film displays an enormous love of the city, warts and all. The film may sanitize the city slightly and downplay the dangers of being in Brooklyn at 2 in the morning, but it also never looks like a film crew came along and made everything sparkle before cameras rolled. Surprisingly and pleasantly, the city feels like a large, inviting playground.
Even though 'Nick and Norah' did end up being all the things I expected it to be, it also had something extra - that magical ability to exceed expectations. That's always a pleasant surprise for a hardened, cynical moviegoer as myself.