Nick und Norah - Soundtrack einer Nacht

Michael Cera reprises a role he does best (a good-natured dork) as high school student Nick O'Leary, the only straight guy in the mostly gay-punk group The Jerk Offs. Nick makes 'closure' CD soundtracks (up to Vol. 12!) for his bitchy ex-girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena, another stereotype for most annoying girl ever--originally hated her in Fool's Gold). Nick meets Tris' best friend Norah Silverberg (Kat Dennings), a mysterious, brooding type, when she asks him to play her boyfriend for a few minutes (another old trick in the book).

Just like the characters' purported awkward age, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was painfully awkward in its acting, story and editing. There were a few highlights and seriously funny moments, but they are a sad sprinkling. Ari Graynor's antics as Caroline, Norah's drunk and ditzy friend, seemed genuine but it wasn't established how and why they remain friends. Some of the dialogue is hilarious but you are rewarded by these handouts only if you're patient enough not to sleep through this infinitely long-drawn out teen flick.

Oh, the soundtrack was perfectly ambient but not particularly memorable (which is the saddest part!), however, I thought the escalator kissing scene was really sweet.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It's not as raunchy as its teen comedy predecessors, yet not as cloying as the usual chick flick. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist manages to strike up a nice balance between the two with a dash of hipster thrown in there. However don't let the title fool you. It isn't all about the music!

The movie is very character-driven and, fortunately, the cast was strong enough to carry it. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings make one quirky and fun on screen pair. The supporting cast members also shine in their roles. Ari Graynor, for instance, plays one of the most ridiculously likable drunks I've ever seen. The performances delivered by this young cast are really what make this movie.

Overall I enjoyed what I saw and can't wait for the DVD release. You don't have to think too hard about this one. It's a quick glimpse into the NYC music scene, light on the drama, but romantic and funny where it needs to be.

Ah, and, for the record, you don't have to be into the hipster subculture to appreciate this movie. It's definitely an accessible story, whether you've heard of Vampire Weekend or not.

All right. Listen up out there. You could say this is Juno without the baby...or almost as useless and watered down as a straight to DVD movie...but you would be missing the point--not that every movie has to have a point.

N&N is not trying to sell something or be something--it's not even trying to be great...because most love stories that try to be great fail. When you see N&N (and if you're in the mood for a lighthearted enjoyable movie, you should), don't go with an expectation of grandeur or even for the entire thing to be great. Alexis Diziena is as useless in this film as she is anorexic and whorish--her part is almost explicitly sexual. And there are so many subplots that their lives appear at times to be exaggerated. What matters almost seems to be camouflaged by what should be secondary.

The movie succeeds in a number of understated ways, though. Ari Graynor's part is by far the funniest character of the bunch and Ari plays the part extremely well. The gay band Michael Cera is a member of adds a quirky afterthought to his character's back story. And what's most important--the characters Nick and Norah act like slightly more interesting versions of normal people. They have their flaws and their disagreements but they're capable of finding the beauty in each other and their story along the way.

Movies should be about the creation and expansion of a spark of magic--not about giving you exactly what you expect or want. The perfection of the movie lives in its imperfections. The love is in the relationships that are real and what is fake gets left behind in a sketchy area near 10th street (that's not a spoiler). It amplifies grace with its soundtrack and hope with its random culmination of peculiar events over a single-night.

So just let the infinite playlist play and enjoy it already.

I had a small feeling about Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist that it was going to be a decent hit, with the popularity of Juno, not to compare, but this movie had similarities. This movie has my main pet peeve with the younger generation of today, the people who are the "I heard this band before you did so I have better taste than you do" type of mentality. The independent rock music movies are just not my thing, so I wasn't too excited to see this movie, but when some friends invited me to go see it with them, I had low expectations and actually ended up having a great time watching Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It's honestly one of the better comedies that is out in theaters right now, although I have to admit I feel so dirty watching all these horny teenage girls, I'm a girl, and it just made me feel uncomfortable, this is how teenagers act? Scary; anyways, the story is really fun and gives you a great time laughing.

Nick is having a hard time after his rough break up with super slutty Tris, he continues to mix CD's for her that her fellow student, Norah listens too and enjoys it. By chance Norah meets Nick not knowing that it's Tris's ex and says that he's her boyfriend to show Tris that she's no prude. But when Norah learns that Nick is the ex, Nick also won't shut up about Tris, but they find out throughout the night that maybe they're musical soul mates and can really dig each other's vibe. But in the mean time with their crazy friends, they try to find their favorite band that is hidden in New York.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is definitely worth the look, I would say that it's worth full price. The only thing I have a problem with is our leading man, Michael Cera, this guy is a nice actor, but he hasn't really expanded himself into different roles, he's been playing the same character since Superbad to be honest. But I'm seeing Kat Dennings more and more, I'm enjoying her presence on screen, she's very lovely and has potential. But the person who definitely stole the show was Norah's drunk friend, Caroline played by Ari Graynor, she was just beyond hilarious and stole all the laughs. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a great new teen comedy, though I really hope teenagers don't act like this... if they do... oh, I'm praying that our future is going to be alright.

7/10

When I was in Maryland to see my sister's firstborn get baptized, we both decided to see this movie when I was there. This was a nicely cutting edge teenage romantic comedy about two strangers played by Michael Cera and Kat Dennings who find out about their similarities only after their friends accidentally put them together. Cera still is pining for an ex he puts a mixed CD for while Dennings is friends with that ex. Michael's character is also a member of a band whose other members are gay while Kat's character has a girlfriend who likes to drink. And all this happens while Cera and Dennings and their friends ride around New York City all night looking for their favorite indie band. Plenty of sweet and funny (and a little gross) moments abound and while my sister and I might have a little problem with a sex scene with the leads, the romance was good enough to overcome that. So on that note, I recommend Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. P.S. There are cameos of a couple of current SNLers I pleasantly noticed right away...