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Movie Review: ‘Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist’
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Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Directed by Peter Sollett
Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Jay Baruchel, Alexis Dziena
Rated PG-13
Release date: October 3, 2008

Some movies just stay on the screen when they are through, but Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist transcends that norm as its radiant truth and naturalistic approach cuts deep through our toughest layer of skin that isn’t penetrated very easily. The characters jump off the screen and suggest we hug them. They don’t have to ask twice. The outcome hasn’t been demonstrated since Almost Famous captivated our emotions in 2000. Each film has similar main characters. Each boy is normal in his appearance, but is thrown into a world that some rock stars and rich men would kill for. It’s with these characters that each film bases its whole premise around; simple and lovable. You can’t teach that in acting school.

There comes a time when a movie achieves intimacy with its audience, and hence, that is how it acquires greatness. First time director Peter Sollett — adapting from a Cohn and Levithan novel — creates magic. He manages to establish a strong enough bond (strongest since Brokeback Mountain) that allows us to realize what we are watching is not only comedy done to perfection, but it can also double as high end drama; almost like a monk who reaches his highest pinnacle during his religious learnings. When comedy can do this, it is hard to beat.

Blatantly breaking away from the infectious raunchy humor which we came to call “˜comedy,’ comes something out of defiance towards that; a movie that was made from the purest of heart with mounting intentions to create peace and harmony amongst every character. Nick & Norah desperately disregards any traits involving vulgar sex, terrible language, and did I mention sex? What Sollett forays into is a movie world where sex isn’t on everyone’s mind. The lone thing that is on everyone’s mind is making the other person smile.

A cast of actors led by Michael Cera and Kat Dennings aren’t viewed in this movie as the typical Hollywood actors. Instead they are cultivated by the trueness of such a story. They miraculously adapt so well to the landscape around them that they loose their Hollywood image. Manhattan’s night life is infested with teenagers looking for love and a good time, and twenty-year-olds looking for a big opportunity, career-wise, to come their way. This Manhattan embodies the actors and shapes them to conceive the familiar faces we see when we go for a night on the town. Cera or Dennings have never been better. Their gift is playing normal people in a world of wannabes.

Every character is in search of ecstasy, or even trying to forget previous ecstasies they once conquered. Cera’s Nick is trying to get over a relationship with Tris (Alexis Dziena), a gorgeous girl who seems to be totally out of Nick’s league. Mix tapes are what he tries to win her back with. Good luck with that. She’s so cold that she tosses them in a waste basket, only to be found by her best friend/rival (a trait that all high school girls channel) Norah (Dennings), who has a knack for the same music Nick loves. Dennings turns in subtle work here as a girl who has been used all her life due to her father’s success. So much so, that when someone loves her for who she really is, she can’t understand it.

What follows is a single night with Tris, along with her new boyfriend (a robot male model), Norah, and their alcohol-loving friend Caroline who cross paths with Nick and his two gay friends. They meet at the boy’s concert taking place in a shabby club. What unfolds is as real as you’re going to get. Random love flings, trying to find missing friends, searching for the venue where the best band in town is playing, and love affairs that will be fixed, broken, or ignited new, each are highlighted against a soundtrack that captures the mood of a night that will shape all of its characters forever.

An infinite playlist can be found on almost every one’s iPod. It consists of songs that people can listen to without ever having to hit the skip button. Very hard to create though. Surprisingly, Sollett — his camera tricks are only slow motion shots and flashbacks, each are devastating — and his actors achieve that with this movie, and I haven’t seen a product of it for quite sometime. I didn’t want this to end. There isn’t a wrong scene, nor does the movie provide anything extra, it just flows continuously like water down a stream.

**** out of ****

5 Comments »

  1. 4 out of 4?
    Really?
    I didn’t love it… it was kind of fun at times… maybe because it is meant for teenagers, idk… but the could’ve done so much more… good review, tho

    Comment by Alitax-TJ — October 1, 2008 @ 6:24 pm

  2. HOBOKEN NO JOKEN! wuuttt!?

    I lol’d

    Comment by Alitax-TJ — October 1, 2008 @ 8:53 pm

  3. Sounds promising.
    Awesome review!!

    Comment by Jerry — October 1, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

  4. I’m really looking forward to seeing this now…

    Comment by mysteryGuy — October 2, 2008 @ 4:42 pm

  5. omg!!!!!! nick and norahs infinate playlist was awesome. Norah’s drunk friend made it so funny!

    Comment by michelle — October 4, 2008 @ 8:45 pm

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