Movies / Movie Reviews

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist


By Nathan Schwartz
October 19, 2008 - 15:15

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Starring: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena, Jay Baruchel
Directors:
Peter Sollett
Writer:
Lorene Scafaria
Executive Producers:
Adam Brightman, Joseph Drake, Nathan Kahane
Producers:
Kerry Kohansky, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Genre:
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating:
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behaviour
Distributor:
Columbia Pictures and Mandate Pictures

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Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, a comedic romp of teenage romance, was neither exceptionally hilarious nor passionately romantic. In fact, it is safe to say that the movie was entirely average. The story was nothing special and the acting just complemented that. There were moments of laughter and cute romanticism but they were short lived and were followed by boring stretches. As well, the movie was riddled with flaws that I thought would get resolved, but were left as plot holes. If it wasn’t for those comedic scenes this movie would be horrible. Instead, it is below average.

The movie opens when a popular band, “Where’s Fluffy”, challenges their fans to find their secret venue somewhere in New York. Nick (Cera), a recently heartbroken and sole heterosexual member of a band named “The Jerk-offs”, and Norah (Dennings), a responsible, down to earth, daughter of a major record label mogul who is constantly looking out for her drunk friend Caroline (Graynor), come together with the help of Nick’s band mates, in an adventure to find the well admired band's venue. Along the way Caroline gets lost, and Nick, his homosexual band mates and Norah, find themselves on a dual quest to find the missing girl and the secret concert. At the same time, Nick’s ex-girlfriend Tris (Dziena) is on her own mission to get him back.

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Cera aptly plays an awkward, love torn teenager, full of subtle witty retorts, whose role accounts for the majority of the comedy and romance in the film. If you want a clear understanding of who his character is, just watch every other movie Cera has been in. He is not a bad actor per se; it just feels like his role is very typecast. The rest of the cast, although playing important roles in the film, are mainly there to push Cera along. The point being that the acting in this film was nothing special. No one stood out and no one was horrible.

What bothered me about this film were the obvious plot holes. First, the age of the characters in the film were around seventeen or eighteen, and yet they managed to get into clubs and bars. I would understand if these were all age clubs, but they made no mention of it, and yet they never once were asked to present ID. The movie should not have progressed like it did because they should not have been allowed into clubs to begin with. Second, there was a point in the film where Cera finds Dziena on top of his car when he returns after leaving it on a random street. How did Dziena manage to find the car? She wasn’t with him when he left it there, and New York is quite a large city. In fact, she makes it a point to ask the cab driver to take her to his car, but she has no idea where it is. As well, there is an intimate scene between Cera and Dennings that makes little sense because their pants were on the entire time. This can be seen when they get up and the only thing off is that their flies are undone.

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This made me come to the realization that this movie was not made for people who are interested in a hilarious comedy or a plot driven romantic film. Rather it seems to be directed at teenagers who are more interested in a make-out movie. The average story and acting alongside the intermittent comedy and romance come together to make a perfect film to space-out in. With this new outlook, the plot holes become a non-issue since the intended audience won’t be paying attention anyways. If you are not a hormonally charged teenager, while you might laugh occasionally, you will still find the majority of the movie rather boring.

Rating: 5 /10


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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