Review of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) by Septi A — 05 Dec 2010

It is not easy to capture in details what it's like to be young right now. The director Peter Sollett is trying too hard in this film to transfer a popular novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan on a screen. The screenwriter Lorene Scafaria helped him a lot, but the result wasn't as good as one would expect.

The story was about Nick (Michael Cera), young quiet man, soon to graduate who frequents New York's indie rock scene. He is still hurt from the last relationship (6 months) with Tris (Alexis Dziena) and that is noticeable to everyone, especially his friends from his gay band, The Jerk Offs, where he's playing the bass. When Norah (Kat Dennings) with her best friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor) finds herself at the same concert where Nick plays, they discover that they have lot in common...

I am usually a fan of Michael Cera... but in this movie his softly spoken and geeky Nick is annoying most of the time... the naïve expression which is almost Cera's trademark, becomes some kind of facial cramp! There is energy between the young actors but there is still lot missing for a complete satisfaction of the audience. The director and the screenwriter tried to fill up the gaps with engaging performances and the sheer volume (as in quantity) of indie rock on the soundtrack but my impression was - too late!

Watch it but do not expect too much!