A funny thing happened the other night at the movies: as I sat there watching
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, I saw myself up there on the screen; I saw people I knew. This was the first teen movie I had seen that I could actually relate to. Sure,
Mean Girls or
Bring it On, are funny and all, but I don't particularly relate to any of the characters in them. With Nick and Norah, I recognized the characters. They had the same sense of humor as me (somewhat awkward and sarcastic with odd emphasis on certain words). The movie takes place over one night. Nick (played by the super cool
Michael Cera) plays in a gay band where he is the only straight guy and he is also getting over his break-up with mean, nasty girl Tris (
Alexis Dziena), who goes to Norah's (
Kat Dennings) school. It turns out Nick has been sending Tris all this mix tapes in hopes that maybe she'll come back to him. She just throws them out and Norah collects them and relishes in them. Norah has a best friend named Caroline (
Ari Graynor) who gets inebriated on said night that Nick and Norah's have together. All of these characters end up in New York where Nick's band, the wonderfully named The Jerk-Offs are playing a gig that Norah happens to be attending. After a chance encounter Nick and Norah end up meeting and Nick's friends in The Jerk-Offs decide Norah is the person Nick needs after the horrible Tris. Various amusing hi jinx ensue. They involve Caroline going missing and a quest to find her, locating a secret concert by Nick and Norah's favorite band, Where's Fluffy? Also, it turns out Norah's has some boyfriend issues of her own to resolve. The movie glides along and is the perfect length. The whole cast is wonderful.
Michael Cera brings his usual awkward sweetness to the role and it really pays off. He is perfect for the role of Nick.
Kat Dennings as Norah is amazing. She is smart, witty, clever, sarcastic, and just
is Norah. You want to be friends with her. This girl Kat has really got something. She was the character I saw myself the most in with her sarcasm and endearing awkwardness.
Ari Graynor is a hilarious scene-stealer as, Caroline, the inebriated friend. She has great comic timing and is a joy to watch.
Rafi Gravon (Dev) and
Aaron Yoo (Thom) are funny, sweet, and caring as Nick's gay bandmates. The fact that they are gay and that Nick is friends with them isn't addressed, and that's extremely refreshing. They are also not stereotypes, and come off as genuine, living, breathing characters. Also,
Jonathan B. Wright is amusing as Lothario, Dev's boyfriend. New York is wonderfully depicted by director
Peter Sollett as a place of adventure and youthful sponteineity. The city is an essential part of the movie. The script by
Lorene Scafaria is smart, clever, and much funnier than the preview led me to believe. The humor gives us insights into the characters and we laugh because we see ourselves in them or at least, I did. The music, as expected, is very good. There's this great moment near the end where everyone involved with Nick and Norah and their big night, meet on the rooftop of this building where the Where's Fluffy show is happening, and the movie goes into slow motion and as Nick and Norah get pulled different ways by an ex-boyfriend and girlfriend they just stare at each other knowingly. It's a sublime movie moment that I appreciated for its simplicity and its depiction of a moment of connection between two cool, indie kids. Bottom Line: I loved this movie. Kat Dennings is the shiz!
P.S. Fistful of Assholes (see the movie and you'll know what I mean)
