Nick (Michael Cera) is the tortured bass player in an all-gay-but-him post-punk band that is hip enough to play the village. He’s just been dumped by his girlfriend Tris and is full of teen angst, sarcasm, and self pity. Norah (Kat Denning) is the awkwardly fun-hipster-jew-girl-in-a-catholic-school, who has to deal with her father being famous and her friend being an alcoholic. She also goes to school with Tris and secretly steals the awesome mix cd’s that Tris’s mystery boyfriend makes for her. The two meet when they are both trying to avoid Tris at one of Nick’s shows. They share a kiss and away we go.
To ensure Nick gets out of his funk, his fellow band mate’s arrange for him to go with Norah to find the band Where’s Fluffy?, playing a secret show in the city. The book and film both steer pretty much the same course until Norah’s friend Caroline, the Soprano’s Ari Graynor, thinks she’s being kidnapped by the band mates and takes off into the wilds New York. It’s then that the film turns into more of a scavenger hunt than a random and quirky adventure. The book Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a short novel about two Jersey kids meeting for a brief moment in New York that turns into an overnight love affair. The book’s charm comes from the fact the book rotates the perspective from which we see the story every other chapter. One chapter Nick is taking us through his rollercoaster of emotions, the next Norah. This provides insight to the characters that isn’t forced through cheesy dialogue one would never say out loud. That’s not to say all of the dialogue is cheesy, but one too many times the characters had to spell out how much they loved a certain band; this immediately following a scene where a different character was spelling out how much they loved a certain band. All so that when you saw them together later you would know, they both love a certain band.
While some of the dialogue seemed forced, the characters themselves felt very real. There was no super sarcastic Juno-esque girl that seems to overcrowd these films nowadays. The characters and actors portraying them felt very genuine and unique. Gone are the days of the John Hughes stereotypes where everyone fits neatly into a mold. This brings me to one of the two biggest highlights of the film, The Jerk-Offs. Nick’s band is called the Jerk-offs. They are an emo/punk/queer-core band. (They sing hip songs with gay overtones or undertones depending on your preference.) The guitarist and lead singer are both gay, portrayed brilliantly by Rafi Gavron and Aaron Yoo, but that isn’t the only thing that makes them worth having in the movie. Between the two of them I was shocked to only hear one stereotyped line, this occurring more naturally when one is helping Norah primp before going out with Nick. They were real people, not overly blown (no pun intended) caricatures of effeminate gay men that Hollywood likes to drop into movies to spice things up. When Aaron Yoo’s Thom explains to Nick “what it’s all about,” he’s coming from a real emotional place. Not some hackneyed, “let me break it down sista” garbage. It’s nice to finally see a gay character be able to be something besides gay.
The other bit of greatness in this film is Ari Graynor as Caroline. While the first few minutes of the movie are clunky with her introduction, the moment she get’s an opportunity to cut loose she does. Graynor’s performance as the boozy best friend is by far the most entertaining part of the film. While the jokes come easy, it’s impressive that the actress is able to keep Caroline charming. It’s easy to understand why someone would put up with her being an obnoxious drunk for so long as she is that endearing best friend who would stick by you to the end, if she could ever make it to the end without passing out or throwing up. Luckily the role was massively expanded from the book or we would have missed out on this fabulous performance.
The film does offer up a few misfires. The pacing of the main love story between Nick and Norah doesn’t quite work as naturally as the book. In the book we are given a lil’ more time to get to know them before any decision is made as to how they feel about each other. In the movie it’s as if the filmmakers want you to know these two are in love before they’ve even met. Michael Cera, god bless him, is charming; as is Kat Denning, but these are not two great tastes that taste great together. Another little bit of unnecessity was the incredibly bad score this film had to offer. Too much synth, too loud (often overshadowing the dialogue), and just plain bad music in a movie that is supposed to be rooted in good music. They should have just stuck with the licensed pop/punk/emo and not bothered with a score. From the sound of it, they could have saved $1.27. If the score is an indicator, the playlist isn't that infinite.
Overall the film isn’t a great experience, but definitely an experience worth having. If you want teen angst, it’s here in spades. If you want realistic characters with honest emotions, the film has that too. Just don’t expect a movie that’s going to move you. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a charming if forgettable teen romantic comedy.
