It's a good thing "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" has such an appealing cast.
This teen-centric comedy is continually straddling the line that separates cute from cutesy. There are times when it almost tilts too far in the latter direction, and a few others where it's painfully hip to a fault (particularly in terms of its soundtrack).
The film also has a few moments of gross-out humor, though might remind some of the '80s-period John Hughes comedies in that regard. And again, it's fortunate that the cast is around to bail it out when it starts taking on water.
Director Peter Sollett and screenwriter Lorene Scafaria have adapted Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's well-regarded novel, about a lovelorn musician named Nick (Michael Cera). His longtime girlfriend, Tris (Alexis Dziena), has broken up with him, and he's having a hard time coping.
But unbeknownst to Nick, he has a secret admirer. She's Norah (Kat Dennings), a music-savvy classmate of Tris who possesses some of the discarded "mix tapes" Nick made to woo back his ex.
These two, should-be lovers keep meeting up over the course of a night. And there's definitely a spark between the two of them.
However, there are a few obstacles in the path of their romance. They include Tris, Norah's hard-partying friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor), and Nick's band mates (Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron), all of whom keep sabotaging things for them.
We do like the two lead characters and want to see them wind up together. And while Cera is still the mopey doofus he played in both "Juno" and TV's "Arrested Development," he does show more personality here.
Some of that comes from pairing him with Dennings ("Charlie Bartlett"). She's warm, sweet and funny. And she's the best thing the film has going for it.
"Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" is rated PG-13 for vulgar sexual and digestive humor (sight gags and references), scattered strong profanity, other suggestive talk (references), a brief sex scene (mostly overheard), substance abuse (teen drinking), derogatory slurs and language (some based on sexual preference), and comic violence (slapstick, brief brawling and vehicular mayhem). Running time: 90 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com