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Nothing new in ‘Nick and Norah’
Movie Review: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
By Patrick Rills
Special to 2theadvocate.com
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PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
out of 4 stars.
On the surface, it seemed that “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” had the potential to shatter the mold that defines most mundane teenage comedies, a genre that caught a glimpse of originality with last year’s “Superbad.” But as you sit through “Nick and Norah” you get that unwelcome feeling of déjà vu that the next hour and a half finds you becoming an expert at checking your watch in the dark.
It’s obvious the creators of “Nick and Norah” used “Superbad” as its recipe for a teenage comedy. It borrows the film’s basic structure: a plot encompassed entirely in one wild, adventurous night in the lives of spontaneous high school seniors who try to replace thoughts of looming responsibility with acts of detached irresponsibility. It even stars “Superbad” alumnus, Michael Cera, although in the unfamiliar territory of a leading role.
Cera is back with more of the same cheek-pinching charm that has defined his career since “Arrested Development.” His character Nick in “Nick and Norah” is not any different than his previous incarnations, except with a different name and a new set of wacky friends that coax him into uncomfortable situations.
As in all things, Cera’s shtick will start to get really lame really fast as it gets reprised in increasingly more mediocre films, even if he’s perfected playing it better than Adam Sandler plays the obnoxious, selfish oaf with a heart of gold. Cera is to the delivery of the under-the-breath quip what Chuck Norris is to the karate chop: few do it better.
“Nick and Norah” bets the farm on this character. The film would suffer severely without Cera’s rehashed, passive-aggressive agreeability or his sympathetic nice guy mojo. It’s only Nick’s unassertiveness that moves the film’s plot forward. Nick’s sensitive puppy dog groveling gets the audience on his side from the beginning through his obsession over his breakup with ex-girlfriend Triss (Alexis Dziena). He leaves heart-wrenching but humorous voice mails and burns countless mix CDs of sappy love songs for her to discard later.
In his exaggerated depression, he is reluctant to play a gig with his gay rock band where it’s no surprise he’s the bassist and also the only straight member. But as is a common theme throughout the movie, all it takes is a minimal amount of convincing to steer Nick in the most plot-advantageous direction.
After he reluctantly performs with his band, Nick meets Norah (Kat Dennings) the other half of the title, who asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Five minutes turns into several hours of Manhattan misadventures, including losing Norah’s drunken, promiscuous friend (Ari Graynor), being mistaken for a taxi and climatic confrontations with their respective exes. But their outlandish mischief is only window dressing to the love story beneath the high jinks and dialogue that reminds you just how old you are.
Despite the film’s colorful characters (it seems as though Nick and Nora are friends with every 18-year-old weirdo in the tri-state area) and eye-pleasing New York setting, “Nick and Norah” drags itself down with softball foreshadowing, convenient villains and predictable romance. It’s just too easy to watch, and anything that isn’t the least bit challenging is just boring.
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