“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” is a fun if slight romantic comedy aimed squarely at the current MTV generation.
The ensemble piece attempts to mingle the teen angst of a John Hughes movie, the night-in-the-city misadventures of Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours,” and the wannabe-hip musical milieu of a sticky underground rock club. And as adapted by scripter Lorene Scafaria from the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan and directed with some lags by Peter Sollett, it mostly succeeds in its modest ambitions.
To the extent it does work, that’s thanks to some charming, non-celebrity kids in the key roles. Playing one of the two title characters, Michael Cera is the only previous marquee draw. Though folks over 30 may recognize his face, if probably not his name, this star of “Superbad” and “Juno” revisits yet again his previously established screen persona as the sweet, gangly geek. Luckily, Cera is such an unassuming and endearing geek that he sufficiently substitutes for a full-blown leading man.
His character Nick here is an amateur musician still licking his wounds after his break-up with the uber-skinny, smokin’ hot, mean girl Tris (Alexis Dziena). Nick, Tris, and a collection of other New Jersey high schoolers find themselves in Manhattan on a kind of scavenger hunt in search of a performance from their favorite elusive punk band. Among the peers along for the ride is Tris’ “frienemy,” the cool, curvy chick Norah (Kat Dennings).
As the evening rolls on and the circle of eccentrics and exes expands, Norah’s comical, drunk BFF, Caroline (Ari Graynor), wanders the streets just out of her protection. Also making the rounds of gritty downtown hot spots, an increasingly polluted wad of gum (a character in itself) goes from mouth to mouth and provides the requisite teen movie gross-out moment.
Meanwhile, Nick and Norah ever so slowly find common ground and connection. But before anything really meaningful can happen, they will have to purge the still-present ghosts of dysfunctional relationships past.
The natural, doe-eyed Ms. Dennings gives pathos and real substance to the love story. And, for a change, the script sensitively frames the obligatory make-out scene from a female perspective. So, no, this isn’t strictly the usual juvenile fare. But most grown-ups outside the target demographic may still be reluctant to download “Playlist.”
Quick info
“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”
3 out of 5 Stars
Stars: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Rafi Gavron, Alexis Dziena
Director: Peter Sollett
Rated Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior.
Running Time: 90 minutes
