Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Reason Movie Chosen

I chose this movie because it is new and popular and stars Michael Cera, the star from the popular movie, Juno. It also was nominated for a variety of awards, including the MTV movie award, mostly for the performances. Additionally this movie is an adaption of the book written by David Levithan, whom also wrote Boy meets Boy.

Bibliographic Information

Director: Peter Sollett

Studio: Sony Pictures

Release Date: 2008

Genre

Romance, Comedy, Drama

About the Director

Peter Sollett is a director, writer, producer, cinematographer, and editor. He has directed State of Romance, The Burg, Cinema 16: American Short Films, Raising Victor Vargas, Five Feet High and rising. He has won eight awards and been nominated for 6 others, mainly in the independent circuit.

Teaser

In one night, the possibilities are infinite.

Plot Summary

Nick, his gay friends and bandmates, are on their way to play a show and find a secret concert, happening later in the night. Norah, music enthusiast and daughter of a wealthy music industry tycoon, and her friend Caroline, are also out on the town looking for the same concert. Nick is desperately not over his ex girlfriend, Tris, who happens to also be Norah’s arch nemesis. Norah, has secretly been listening to the 7+ breakup mixes that Nick has made for Tris, and she has a secret crush on him. The two meet at Nick’s show, when Norah asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Then, they spend the rest of the night trying to find Caroline, whom has disappeared, the secret show, whose location keeps changing, and some common ground. Do they hate each other or like each other? They both love music, but it is hard to tell what else might keep them engaged. The night becomes a long adventure, and more complicated, when Tris, whom is a little jealous now that Nick has moved on, and Norah’s ex-boyfriend, appear and shake things up.

Critical Analysis

The plot of this movie is fairly bare bones. Boy and girl meet, boy and girls’ ex’s complicate the situations. Boy and girl run around town with their friends and have silly adventures in a long night in New York City. It is not a particularly new plot. The writing however, is fairly decent, there is some cute dialogue and some awkward yet sweet moments. Nick and Norah’s characters are quirky and charming, and essence of being a teenager is captured quiet well. The soundtrack, to be expected, is good and a substantial part of the movie, and Michael Cerra, gives a good performance. Much like Empire Records, or Can’t Hardly Wait, in spirit, this movie might be memorable, just shy of a cult classic. Lastly, there are some gross-out scenes, that could have been cut, such as the sharing of some foul gum, but the metaphor kind of threads the piece and literally holds it together in some ways. Being a teenager is fun, and hard, and, well, sometimes kind of gross!

Themes/Tags/Issues

Romance, Getting over heartbreak, Friendship, Adventure, Partying, Music

Booktalking Ideas

This movie was actually a book first, written by David Levithan, the author of Boy meets Boy. Connect the movie to the book, and also push the book! (especially if readers read Boy meets Boy and liked it).

Getting over and ex

Rating

Pg13