Love is one of the most powerful emotions. It can run the gamut from the
heated passion of youth to the slow, comfortable manifestation of the more
mature. Usually a romantic comedy focuses somewhere in between but when the teen
set is involved a special genre is invoked; the coming of age story. This type
of story is usually successful in reaching a broader range of audience members
since those turbulent years are something we have all experienced or are going
through at the moment. Young love is a dizzying roller coaster ride of raw
emotions and even if our personal experiences are decades in the past it a movie
of this sort can remind us bringing us back in time. One of the sleeper hits in
the romantic comedy division is ‘Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist. For those
out there old as dirt such as myself; a playlist is a grouping of songs for use
one a device suck as an ‘i-Pod’ or burned on a CD. In our time we emulated this
by recording songs in a set order on a cassette. This is just a plot device to
take an age old tale of love, rejection and acceptance and present in a fashion
that will catch the eye of the targeted teen demographic. Admittedly, I was
aware even curious about this film for some time now and was happy to have the
opportunity to finally review it. While not part of the intended age group the
film was incredibly energetic, entertaining and upbeat; perfect for a date night
at home. First and foremost there is something that must be kept in mind as you
sit down to watch this or any rom-com. The most important thing is fostering a
better than usually ability to suspend disbelief. The premise depends on a set
of unlikely circumstances progressing in exactly the correct sequence. As a
person who works on a daily basis with statistics this flick stretches
believability far beyond any realistic elastic limit; but with that said no one
watches a romantic comedy for a realistic story line.
One thing that immediately jumped out at me was the source material was a
novel co-authored by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. I was interested in seeing
how a teen love story would be crafted when the writing duties are split between
a man and woman. The screenplay was the first adaptation for the relatively new
Lorene Scafaria. To her credit the overall construction of the story is
excellent especially considering this genre is extremely dependent on a well
standardized scaffold dictation the ultimate flow of the plot and character
development. All rom-coms are built on a three act play model; introduce them in
act one, tear them apart in act two and reunite them happily in the final act.
Since the destination is never a surprise what matters most is the road the
script writer lays out before the audience as a means to get there. In this case
the path goes through the realm of fantasy but after all that is a major part of
a romantic story. The film was directed by New York City’s own Peter Sollett.
This is his first feature film and also one of the first movies done under a new
made in NYC banner. After living most of my life in New York City I do have a
soft spot for movie that turn the city into a participating character.
Nick (Michael Cera) is a pathetic loser, whipped beyond imagination by his
ex-girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena).actually Nick is a really nice guy and not
intrinsically a whipped loser, he just became that because of his overly
idealistic view of Tris that prevents him from seeing what a self-centered,
manipulative piece of work she is. His entire bedroom is a shrine to Tris and
Nick tries in vain to win her back by burning playlists for her. Tris has moved
on to her next exploit tossing the CDs in the trash at school where they are
retrieved by Nora (Kat Dennings) who loves music and is drawn to Nick’s CDs
although she has never met him. In the position set between the two polar
opposite girls is the alcoholic and trampy Caroline (Ari Graynor); a role
required for comic relief and to realistically bridge the social gap and open
hostility between Nora and Tris. One note; Tris is constantly stating the Nora
is unattractive when the fact is this is a cast filled with beautiful young
actresses. It must be a ‘Mean Girl’ thing. Although Nick is straight he plays
bass in an otherwise gay band called ‘The Jerk-Offs’. One night they were
playing a gig and the other characters began to gather. Much to his chagrin Tris
shows up with her new boyfriend in tow. She derides Nora for not having a
boyfriend so Nora grabs the first guy she spots, Nick, and makes out with him.
He goes along not only because Nora is very attractive but in hopes of getting
Tris jealous. The one goal that Nick and Nora have in common is to find an Indy
band ‘where’s Fluffy’ notorious for leaving clues to find their venues. Caroline
passes out so the gay band mates offer to take her home in their van while Nick
drives Nora home in his broken down Hugo that can barely make it up even a
slight incline. The boys in the band hate Tris and decide that Nora is much
better for their straight friend going so far as to tell Nora to go for it and
change her bra to show off more cleavage. Sounds confusing; it is but in a
delightfully whimsical fashion.
One aspect of this movie that works well is the context of the strangest
night possible. Most of us have experienced a night that seemed to be horrible
while going through it but turns out in retrospect to be one of the most
memorable nights of our lives. Martin Scorsese did this extremely well in his
dark comedy ‘After Hours’. This is a fun romp; lively and youthful but still
entertaining for all.
Outtakes
Deleted Scenes
"Middle Management" Music Video By Bishop Allen
A Nick & Norah Puppet Show By Kat Dennings
Storyboard Animations
Cinechat: Send On-Screen Instant Messages
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Create And Share
Telestrator Commentary With Director And Cast
Posted 03/18/2010