Review #6 – Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

There is good stuff and not-so-good stuff in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. A lame opening for a review, I guess, but reflective of how I am feeling an hour and a half after leaving the theatre... it is so much easier to review a film that can be raved about [have you seen Lives of Others?]... or one that cannot be raved about [don't get me started about Nacho Libre... how can you make an unexciting, unfunny film about Lucha Libre?]... but I digress, often.

NaNIP has, at its core, a good story; it is adapted from a novel by Rachel Cohn, and I think that some of the difficulties come from the filmmakers' trying to keep true to the text. For future reference, note that film scripts run at about a page a minute. Cohn's novel is 192 minutes long. NaNIP: the movie is 90 minutes long. Something has to give.

There are any number of good side issues in this movie: the gay friends; the bandmates (same thing); the lost-drunk-friend-who-needs-to-be-found-before-the-story-can-be-resolved (wow, a lot of hyphens!... I do love me some punctuation); the mysteriously (dis)appearing band; life in the 'burbs vs. the CITY; the bitchy ex-girl friend; the loser ex-boyfriend; the influential father; et cetera... you get the picture... any number of good side issues, but too many of this good thing; choose one or two and get on with the show.

That being said there is much to like in NaNIP [I like this acronym and will keep using it]; the characters are sympathetic and interesting, including the myriad of friends. The music is tremendous; in fact, there could be more focus on the music... many movies cavalierly jam songs in at every opportunity so that the soundtrack can be amazing, but this movie is rife with motivation for putting in another song.

What is this movie about, you ask? Whoops, I've made it a fair way into this review without saying much about the plot. Nick (Michael Cera) has been dumped by his girl, Tris (Alexis Dziena). He doesn't want to leave the house. His bandmates (Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron) make him, because they have a gig. He meets Norah (Kat Dennings) at the gig. She has had a crush-from-a-distance on him for a while, because of the spiffy mixed-tapes [actually CDs] that he made for his undeserving ex-girlfriend. They run around New York, looking for the elusive band, Where's Fluffy, and Caroline (Ari Graynor), Norah's drunk and lost friend. Any more description would constitute a spoiler, and, while I have serious reservations about this movie, I don't want to spoil it for you. It is entertaining and worth a look, but I know that I am in trouble when I start re-editing a movie in my head while I am watching it.

One other note: I would like to nominate NaNIP for a best-use-of-a-Yugo in a full-length feature film award. Nothing says fun like a ratty car from a country that no longer exists! [I used to own a Lada].