Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
One magical night in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
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Tuesday, 27, Jan 2009 02:44
Directed by Peter Sollett, out January 30th, currently showing at London Film Festival, starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, Rafi Gavron, Aaron Yoo, Ari Graynor, running time 90 mins.
In a nutshell...
This year's Juno, with a sweeter centre.
What's it all about?
Two people are thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living and live, loud music. Nick (Cera) frequents New York's indie-rock scene nursing a broken heart and playing bass with his band the Jerk Offs. Norah (Dennings) is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world.
Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band's secret show and ends up becoming a first date that could change both their lives.
Who's in it?
Rafi Gavron (Rome), Aaron Yoo (Disturbia, The Wackness) and Ari Graynor (An American Crime, The Sopranos) are all fantastically funny supporting characters - the first two especially noteworthy in steering clear of gay stereotypes - while Alexis Dziena (Broken Flowers, Fool's Gold) is excellent as the sexy, spurned witch.
But this is all about the titular leads. Having won the hearts of comedy fans around the world with his awkward portrayal of George Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, Michael Cera starred in two of the biggest hits of 2007 in the shape of Superbad and Juno. He can soon be seen alongside Jack Black in prehistoric comedy Year One and in Edgar Wright's comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs The World.
Kat Dennings, meanwhile, had been famed for her role as demanding teen princess Jenny Brier in Sex and the City before breakout roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Charlie Bartlett and The House Bunny. She can next be seen with William H Macy and Leslie Mann in Shorts.
As an example...
"You're completely blowing him with your eyes." - Caroline
"Just 'cos there was a last bus doesn't mean she was on the last bus." - Norah
"You and your logic." - Thom
"I will not be a goody bag at your pity party, Nick." - Norah
"There's this part of Judaism that I like. Tikun Alum. It said that the world is broken into pieces and everyone has to find it." - Norah
"Maybe we don't have to find it. Maybe we are the pieces." - Nick
"Nick? I'm coming in... " - Norah
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Juno's Oscar success may have paved the way for comedies being given a fair look by the Academy and it's Lorene Scafaria's script - based on Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's novel - that could be Nick and Norah's best chance of awards glory. MTV and Teen Choice gongs no doubt lie in wait as well.
What the others say
"It is a teen romantic comedy that largely fits the familiar template but is also fleshed out with atmosphere, a nice blend of broad goofiness and sophistication, and two appealing leads who bring it to life." - Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times
"In the 1930s, Hollywood had The Thin Man, with the married couple Nick and Nora Charles as the epitome of Manhattan swank. Though this Nick and Norah have a lot more angst, they're just as worth watching, admiring and cuddling up to." - Richard Corliss, Time
So is it any good?
The prospect of a teen Lost in Translation sounds worryingly Disney Channel in tone, but so likeable are our principals - much more so than Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson - that Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is far more successful than the film to which it bears closest resemblance.
Its US box office achievements - recouping its meagre budget in its opening weekend - are testament to the loving look taken by Sollett and Scafaria at two characters who could easily have been geek pastiches, amid a scene that just avoids being too cool for its own good.
Some beautiful visual tics and Cera's trademark ability to raise a laugh through a complete lack of comfort in his own skin - notably as he mails a mix CD to his heartless ex entitled 'Road to Closure - volume 12' - instantly put viewers at ease and while we're well aware that Nick and Norah are pre-destined to end up together, we're so enchanted by the pair that we're rooting for them from the start.
There's a romantic, very innocent sexual tension between Cera and Dennings that keeps the piece more Annie Hall than American pie in tone and though it's all formulaic at its heart, their chemistry and charm is the film's killer hand.
You might never have had a night like Nick and Norah's. You're almost certainly not as comfortably cool as either of them. And you'll know that, sadly, their type of romantic love exists almost exclusively in celluloid. But that doesn't stop their playlist starting a residency on the stereo in your head for months, maybe even years to come.
8/10
Lewis Bazley
"For those interested, see below the list of songs that will be in the movie. Brooklyn's Bishop Allen and Project Jenny, Project Jan also make an appearance in the film. Devandra Banhart also makes a cameo appearance. Chris Bell - Speed Of Sound, Devendra Banhart - Lover, The Real Tuesday Weld - Last Words, Takka Takka - Fever, Band Of Horses - Our Swords, Richard Hawley - Baby You're My Light, Modest Mouse - Little Motel, Project Jenny Project Jan - Negative, Dead 60's - Riot Radio, Paul Tiernan - How To Say Goodbye, Army Navy - Silvery Sleds, Shout Out Louds - Very Loud, We Are Scientists - After Hours, The Submarines - Xavia, The National - All The Wine, The Raveonettes - Twilight, Bishop Allen - Middle Management, Vampire Weekend - Ottoman, Matt & Kim - "Silver Tiles." - Dan Ephron