Monday, August 31, 2009

Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist (2008)

“Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” is a quick, quirky comedy about the genre I’ve previously said bores me silly: the boy-meets-girl teen comedy. Except it actually shakes the genre up, and delivers genuinely funny entertainment.

First, Nick (Michael Cera) and Nora (Kat Dennings) are by no means matinee idol stars of beauty and great, polished one-liners. There’s no eye-bleeding talk of soul mates or “hooking” up. Nor is there a case of mistaken identity, or any semblance of some bet that leads the super cool person to love the nerd. Rather, Nick and Nora meet and bicker and talk about their greatest respective love -- independent rock music – until romance sparks. That’s it. Simple and wonderful.

The entire film is built on Nick’s geeky awkwardness, and Nora’s need for him to just shut-up about an ex. This is the kind of flubbed flirting that any man or women who’s actually lived outside of Beverly Hills has made.

Filmed in fantastic New York locales that would never make it into a Kate Hudson film, “Nick and Nora” almost has an off-the-cuff approach that allows one to feel like they’re along for the ride, not just spectator to unattainable beautifully lit models with perfect teeth. Oh, the soundtrack is cool. Even for a guy who can’t recall the last time he listened to the radio. B+

1 comment:

  1. Oh come on. It's worthy of an A. It was a fun and smart film.

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