Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
Written by Nikki Baughan Tuesday, 23 June 2009 12:21
DVD
The city that never sleeps...
High school student Nick (Michael Cera) is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he has been dumped by his girlfriend. In an effort to get him out of his funk, his friends drag him into New York City in search of a secret gig by their favourite band, Where’s Fluffy? A chance meeting with Norah (Kat Dennings) and her extremely drunk friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) leads to a night of kidnapping, musical mayhem and falling in love.
As romantic comedies go, Nick and Norah actually manages to hit both the emotion and the humour on the head. Thanks to sharp performances by its two hip and hugely likeable leads, a well-chosen punk rock soundtrack and a cracking Manhattan backdrop, it avoids any schmaltz usually associated with the genre and moves along apace. That’s also down to the script, adapted by Lorene Scafaria from the hit novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which is stuffed to the brim with fast-paced dialogue and sparkling one-liners that are delivered with relish by the film’s good-looking, young cast.
OK, so it’s something of a fantasy; in real-life, most 17 year-olds would not be able to use NYC as their unfettered night-time playground, and driving through the city is certainly not the wacky races fun it seems to be here. But as the setting of Nick and Norah’s burgeoning feelings it couldn’t be more perfect, and it’s as much a love poem to the Big Apple as it as a tale of teen romance. And although the plot is stretched pretty thinly, being as it is a 90-minute game of hide and seek with drunken friends and elusive bands, Cera and Dennings are charming enough to hold the attention and have sufficient chemistry that you’re rooting for them to end up together. 4 stars
Extra Features
The highlights have to be the two commentaries; both include director Peter Sollett who is joined in one by editor Myron Kerstein and in the other by book authors Cohn and Levithan and screenwriter Scafaria. It’s just a shame no cast members are present, although there is a separate interview with Cera, Dennigs and co-star Eddie Kaye Thomas.
Elsewhere there are deleted scenes, a couple of fluffy featurettes, blooper reel, storyboards and music video plus a digital copy of the film.
The Blu-ray also contains an interactive feature which allows you to create and share a playlist of songs from the movie, and Cinechat which lets you send instant messages around the world to friends also watching the movie. Most interesting, however, is the Telestrator Commentary with director Sollet and stars Cera, Dennings and Graynor who draw and point to items of interest throughout the movie. 4 stars
Play Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Trailer (Low Res)
Play Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Trailer (Medium Res)
Play Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Trailer (High Res)
ROLL CREDITS...
Stars Michael Cera, Katt Dennings, Aaron Yoo
Director Peter Sollett
Distributor Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Format DVD & Blu-ray
Released June 22
