Review: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

OPENING: 10/03/2008

STUDIO: Sony

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
The teen comedy for the other teens.

Opening Statement
While it isn’t going to work for everyone, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is one of the most sincere, heartfelt, funniest romantic comedies in a long time. After this and Raising Victor Vargas, director Peter Sollett looks like he’s going to become the John Hughes of the marginalized.

Facts of the Case
Nick (Michael Cera, Superbad) is the only straight member of a gay indie band, and is suffering through a pathetic breakup with Tris (Alexis Dziena, Fool’s Gold). Norah (Kat Dennings, The House Bunny) is a fan of indie music, and is preparing to head out on the town with her drink-lovin’ friend Caroline (Ari Graynor, Turn the River). Nick and Norah’s lives collide on their indie-rock quest to find a concert by the fictional Where’s Fluffy?, which will be playing late at some secretive New York location.

The Evidence
Teen romantic comedies are pretty much as mainstream as possible. They are about normalization, most of them centering around a freak who needs to be incorporated into the popular crowd. A girl needs to be made more attractive to the boys, wild boys need to be tamed and turned into sensitive boyfriends. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is the antithesis of that film, one that dives into the underground scene of New York and brings us heroes that reject all expectations and find one another in the midst of disaster.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist‘s underground sensibility is going to drive away much of the target audience, who will shrug it off as a stupid movie for emo kids, but they will also be missing one of the best romantic comedies to come out since High Fidelity. It shares a love for music with its big indie brother, assembling a soundtrack that practically becomes a character in the film. It’s also full of pop culture references, unexpected character transitions, and a deep desire for individuality. We get the distinct impression that Peter Sollett is making a movie where he lives–a loving tribute to the New York scene.

Thankfully, he has also filled this world with actors who perfectly reflect their roles in this bizarre world. Michael Cera does here what he always does, but he may be the only actor I can think of that could actually sell a straight, sensitive high school student who plays bass guitar for a queercore band. Kat Dennings is incredible as Norah, a girl that we can almost believe would see herself as plain and unattractive, before we fall in love with her just as Nick does. They are supported by one of the most believable drunk roles in history. I don’t know if Ari Graynor was actually drunk for much of production, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Most of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist stays pretty true to the genre, though it never feels formulaic. Nick and Norah are driven together, dislike each other at first, but find themselves falling in love over the duration of the crazy night. I think it works because it has such different goals than standard teen comedies. Nick doesn’t need to be tamed, he needs to do some wild and unpredictable things to shake himself out of complacency. Norah doesn’t need a makeover, she needs to have enough faith in herself that Nick could love her because she’s wonderful, not because she’s physically attractive. When they do fall in love, we actually believe it.

Rebuttal Witnesses
The most serious problem with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is Tris. I find it pretty much impossible to believe that Nick and Tris would have been together in the first place, why she would have any interest in him, or why he would have ever been taken by her in the first place. It’s like she’s walked in out of a more generic movie, and the character simply never works. It’s a minor flaw, but I found that whole relationship bothered me after the fact.

Closing Remarks
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is never going to be a runaway hit. It doesn’t have the mainstream appeal required to propel it into real fame, but that’s okay. It will, however, become a cult classic that a generation of marginalized teens are going to look back to as a cultural touchstone. Anyone who gets tired of the usual generic fare should also catch this one in the theatre, sit back, and bask in its unique indie glow. It’s been quite a while since I’ve walked out of a theatre with a big grin on my face.

The Verdict
Not guilty. Now go find Fluffy!

9/10

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