Michael Cera seems to have perfected the nerdy persona he played in Juno"" and ""Superbad."" ""Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"" appeared to be another chance for him to assume the familiar role.
The film looks much like Cera's previous projects, complete with a hand-doodled intro. However, ""Nick and Norah's"" removes some of the geeky awkwardness and builds its story around a more mature, Ivy League-bound pair.
As a result, the film doesn't drip with the sarcasm of ""Juno"" or deliver the gut-wrenchingly funny one-liners that made ""Superbad"" stand out. Instead, ""Nick and Norah's"" delivers a plot hovering between amusing and endearing, romantic and sappy.
Nonetheless, it's a fun, all-night ride through New York City with a killer cast and soundtrack to match.
The film unfolds after Norah, the film's music-loving anti-heroine played expertly by Kat Dennings (""The House Bunny,"" ""The 40-Year Old Virgin""), sweet talks broken-hearted musician Nick into posing as her boyfriend at a nightclub.
Turns out, they're a hip version of seemingly star-crossed lovers. Norah has been secretly collecting mix CDs intended for Nick's ex-girlfriend, a man-eating tween named Tris (executed well by Alexis Dziena). This forms the focus of the film - can Nick and Norah unravel the messy ties to their exes in time to explore their own blooming romance?
While the pair struggles to sort out their issues, viewers are treated to a colorful cast of sidekick characters that occasionally manage to steal the spotlight from their counterparts during their brief, on-screen interludes.
There's no McLovin here, but Norah's best gal pal, the hilariously inebriated Caroline (Ari Graynor of ""The Sopranos"") rouses laughs with her drunken antics. Nick's bandmates Thom and Dev (Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron, respectively) deliver classic comedy as they bicker over band names from ""the Jerk Offs"" to ""Shit Sandwich"" for their queercore dance band (of which Nick is the only straight member).
Director Peter Sollett delivers a loving and heartfelt tribute to New York City, stuffed with shimmering panning shots of the nighttime landscape. Legendary concert halls and weathered clubs serve as the backdrop for characters suffering through run-ins with exes. Among the night's pit stops are music mainstay Bowery Ballroom, dance bar Arlene's Grocery and Brooklyn's hipster staple, Union Pool.
""Nick and Norah's"" is best suited for teen and twenty-something audiences who grew up with the genre of teen dramas like ""Sixteen Candles,"" ""Dazed and Confused"" and ""Can't Hardly Wait.""
Like its influences, this film explores the transitory period between high school and college while tugging the right strings to make audiences hum with nostalgia.
Grade: AB
