Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Release Date:
October 3, 2008
Movie of the Day for Tuesday, June 10, 2008
See other Movies of the Day
On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 5/31 |
Les Winan |
Charming, romantic and funny. Outstanding. |
| 34/52 |
Sean Collier |
Band Name? Band Name. Band Name? Band Name. Band Name? Band Name. |
| 35/196 |
Max Braden |
I wanted to like this more than I did. The direction or editing felt inexperienced, resulting in a forced rhythm that took you out of the natural charm of the characters. |
No, this movie does not mark the return of the Thin Man and his bride. Instead, this tale involves exactly the sort of romantic lead the world has anxiously awaited, the "non-queer bassist in a queercore band". No, I don’t know what a queercore band is, either, which probably gives away my age and yours. Anyway, the titular Nick could wipe the floor with you at Rock Band, but that does not make him any luckier at love. His heart has been broken, making his time as a member of The Fuck Offs bittersweet. No matter how many times he plays their massive back catalogue of hits, he feels no joy.
Attempting to reduce his sorrow, Nick walks across the club to Nora and asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend for five minutes. Needing a ride home, the girl agrees, already planning their first tit-for-tat negotiation. During their first conversation, their similarities surprise each other. They are music lovers first and foremost, but each is also passionate about their friends and family. Also, they both are suffering the depression that stems from a break-up. Recognizing kindred spirits, the fake lovers start to…well, you know. Exploring the Manhattan faux music rebel scene, their night turns into the type of romance last seen onscreen in Before Sunrise. These are two complete strangers, teens who pretend to be something at first before realizing too late it was self-fulfilling prophecy.
Based on a novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the cinematic adaptation stars Superbad’s Michael Cera and Charlie Bartlett’s Kat Dennings. What makes this story so engaging is that it is told from the perspective of each character, meaning that some scenes will be narrated by Dennings while others will be handled by Cera. Given Cera’s recent accomplishment as a romantic lead (of sorts) in Juno, there is a lot of cause for optimism here. BOP’s love of Before Sunrise (and Before Sunset) is well documented, so any movie with a similar theme immediately grabs our attention. (David Mumpower/BOP)
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