Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)

Directed by Peter Sollett. Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena, Jay Baruchel, Rafi Gavron, Aaron Yoo, Jonathan B. Wright, Zachary Booth. [PG-13]

No, it’s not a contemporary The Thin Man remake. The Nick and Nora(h) of this film are a couple of high school hipsters-in-training, as hung up on matters of the heart as they are on indie bands. One of those indie bands, a fictional one called Where’s Fluffy, is playing a secret gig in the city, which is what these two anti-cliché clichés are on the hunt for during the course of a long and eventful night chock-full of close-calls and contrivances; they also develop a cutesy connection, of course, but Nick being hung-up on a superficial and stuck-up ex-girlfriend (Dziena) and Norah feeling trapped by an on-again-off-again hustler of a boyfriend (Baruchel) keep getting in the way. And if that had been what the movie had focused on, it might have worked, but instead, distractions are provided by the obnoxious travails of Norah’s drunk, dim-witted friend (Graynor) and Dziena’s petty jealousy. Cera hardly breaks out of his comfort zone (his Nick could easily be Evan Goldberg transitioning into Scott Pilgrim) and Dennings’ insecure sarcasm could use more bite, but they still make for an agreeable onscreen pair. Anyone expecting the eventual appearance of much-vaunted Where’s Fluffy to pay off, prepare to feel gypped. Groovy soundtrack, though. Cameos from John Cho, Andy Samberg, and Seth Meyers (he’s the one making out with screenwriter Lorene Scafaria in the back of Nick’s Yugo).

52/100