Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Review By: Michael Dance
MichaelDance@TheCinemaSource.com

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist falls somewhere in between the wild-and-crazy shenanigans of Superbad and the more conventional trappings of a date movie. That might've been an awkward combination, but as soon as it becomes apparent that Nick and Norah is as sweet-natured and low-key as its main characters, it becomes almost impossible not to like.

As in Superbad, we're again taken on a one-night-only odyssey, this time through a magical version of New York City (mostly the East Village) where parking spots are always available exactly where you need them. And again, Michael Cera plays a perpetually nervous high school senior, this time one who has just broken up with his girlfriend of six months, Tris (Alexis Dziena).

Quickly signaling that the plot is content to be pretty conventional, Tris -- who looks a heck of a lot like a young Denise Richards crossed with an Olsen twin -- is immediately established to be a really wretched person. Petty, ignorant, scheming, even her friends hate her, and oh yeah, she cheated on him throughout their relationship. Why Nick would ever fall head over heels for her remains a mystery; the movie's content with letting us assume that it's because she's hot, and probably put out.

Anyway, the night is set up thusly: Nick goes into Manhattan one night to play with his band, the Jerk-Offs. Tris is at the gig with a new boyfriend. So is her schoolmate Norah (Kat Dennings). Norah's never met Nick -- he goes to a different school than the girls -- but she knows of him because she really likes the mix CDs he keeps making Tris. So when Tris starts taunting Norah for being perpetually single, Norah goes up to Nick and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend, not realizing he's Tris's ex.

Norah's of course horrified to learn the truth, but with a little nudging from Nick's band mates, the two of them spend the night hanging out together, both on the hunt for their favorite band, called Where's Fluffy, which is rumored to have a secret concert somewhere in the city.

Of course they begin to really like each other, and of course their attraction is threatened by the jealous Tris as well as an ex-boyfriend of Norah's named Tal (Jay Baruchel). And of course there will be a falling out, and they'll each briefly return to their exes before realizing that they're really meant for each other, etc.

That's all boring plot mechanics, but the movie seems to realize that -- wisely, it gets those complications out of the way by the end of the first hour, and lets the rest of the movie coast, as it should, on Cera and Denning's chemistry and likeability. They both more or less play real people, much smarter and more thoughtful than your average movie teenagers. Dennings has matured gracefully since her first major role, the daughter ...