I'm not a city girl (that's why I came to Bowdoin). Bright lights at night, constant traffic, and the sweet smell of sewage just aren't my thing. However, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" instilled within me a deep desire to go from indie club to indie club in New York City in search of an elusive band.
Beyond that, though, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" did nothing else for me. In fact, the hour and a half long movie could have been distilled into a half hour of boy meets girl, boy's friends take girl's drunk friend with them and then lose her, boy and girl look for drunk friend and indie band, and finally boy and girl hook up (surprise, surprise).
Michael Cera (known for his role in "Juno") plays the bassist of a band called the Jerk Offs named Nick (he's the only straight one) and is hung up on his cheating girlfriend, Tris. Kat Dennings (from "Charlie Bartlett") plays Norah, the out-of-place girl who can get into whatever nightclub she wants due to her father's position in the music industry. Norah is also the schoolmate of Tris and has heard all about Tris's many infidelities. Norah has also heard all of the "break-up mixes" that Nick made for Tris and has fallen head over heels for the guy who created the thoughtful playlists.
Nick has been pining for Tris for a couple weeks when his bandmates decide to pull him out of his funk. They have a gig that night in a club in New York, but Nick resists until they hear on the radio that Where's Fluffy, Nick's favorite band, is making a special appearance in the city in an undisclosed location. To get to the show, you have to unravel the clues and follow the pink bunnies that show up in places around the city. Nick agrees to go into the city after hearing this newscast.
At the Jerk Offs' gig, Tris and Norah show up. Nick, determined to talk to Tris about why she dumped him, is stopped by Norah's kissing him when she needs a boyfriend for a few minutes to prove to Tris that she isn't out on her own again. Norah, after randomly selecting a guy and kissing him, is shocked to learn that he's Tris's Nick, but Nick's friends couldn't be more thrilled. They think that Norah is just the girl to help Nick get over Tris.
However, Tris, with a new guy of her own, is infuriated that Nick and Norah are apparently "dating" because if Nick isn't pining over her, she won't let him be happy with anyone else. She follows Nick and Norah around the city in their search for Fluffy (and Norah's drunk friend) in a desperate attempt to get Nick back.
You can see where the story line is going. This is a high-schooler's film after all, where the happy ending is necessary for box office success and the movie is based on a novel by Rachel Cohn. Norah does have some snappy lines and the soundtrack isn't half bad, but other than that, the movie drags along with the same argument happening over and over about whether Nick should go with Norah or with Tris.
If you want to relive high school and the drama you experienced there, then by all means, grab a seat and some popcorn and hunker down. But if you've moved on, skip this film and try something that has more of a plot.