Comedy's current wunderkind, Michael Cera, stars in another super-smart teen comedy with the cool-factor of an indie-rock music mix. Cera plays the perennially hapless Nick, hopelessly in love with his ex-girlfriend and anaesthetized when it comes to the idea of finding anyone else. His special talent is making killer mix CDs, the entire series of which has been dedicated to his unrequited love. When his bandmates secure their struggling indie-rock group a gig in the city, he is vaguely excited. A legendary band is playing a secret show on the same night, and the chance to see them is a good argument for getting out of the house. But he lucks out when, after his gig, he meets Norah (Kat Dennings), who is cute, hassled and equally dissatisfied with the world of relationships. Nick and Norah embark on a wild chase through New York City as they endeavour to track down the secret show, find Norah's walkabout friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) and placate Nick's over-excited mates.
In Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, director Peter Sollett shows us another side to the city he explored in his brilliant debut, Raising Victor Vargas. He has a knack for making kids look like kids in all their incarnations – whether cynical, shy, gay, straight, straight-edge or drunk – and then sending them out to have a good time. These young protagonists are middle-class and music-obsessed. The wry, smartly written script and savvy pop-culture references make this a great companion piece to the 2007 Festival hit Juno, while Nick and Norah's apathetic shtick recalls the hip ennui of Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World.
Cera's comic timing is impeccable. His delivery is as meek and mawkish as his George Michael Bluth days, and his chemistry with charming newcomer Dennings simply crackles with the awkwardness of adolescence. Sollett's underground eye gives New York City a beating heart, and his choice of music – and musical cameos – will have you trainspotting the indie-rock playlist.
Jane Schoettle
Peter Sollett was born in Brooklyn and studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. His short film, Five Feet High and Rising (00), won awards at the Cannes, Sundance, Aspen and South by Southwest film festivals. His feature films are Raising Victor Vargas (02) and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (08).