Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

If you like slice-of-life teen movies, you’ll enjoy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. While not breaking any new ground, it delivers solid performances with a few chuckles, a few ‘eww gross’ moments, and your typical boy/girl love story. It also has a backdrop of a boy/boy relationship that was done very well – no gay agenda forced on anyone, and no disruptive messages of intolerance pushing you towards being uncomfortable. I kept waiting for one or the other to drop, but instead it just ended up being a great side story that kept you engaged with multiple characters.

Nick and Norah’s has a superb soundtrack that kept me engaged throughout the movie. It was eclectic enough to keep you interested and yet fit perfectly without overwhelming the different scenes.

The movie takes place over the course of one night and zeroes in on two high school seniors, Nick (Michael Cera – Superbad and Juno) and Norah (Kat Dennings – The House Bunny). They meet at a club and end up driving around New York all night in search of the band ‘Where’s Fluffy’. There’s also a subplot going on involving friends of Nick trying to get Norah’s drunk friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) safely home, and the antics that come from them not caring a whole lot whether they accomplish this or not.

If you’re a fan of New York’s lower Mahattan, you’ll see several fun hot spots. It was great seeing places like Vaselka’s that are hip hangouts for the late night crowd and getting the romantic overview of New York nightlife. Although – it did leave me questioning how none of these high school students ever had to call home or otherwise get any grief about being on their own…in New York City…all night long. But slice-of-life doesn’t have to equal realistic for the movie to be fun!

And that’s what Nick and Norah’s is – fun. An updated teen movie that doesn’t preach to kids; doesn’t make adults think kids are out of control; and doesn’t ruin your date night with a lot of overhyped angst.