976. Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)

Starring: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena

Director: Peter Sollett

Running Time: 90 mins

Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist is an American film about two music-loving young people who are thrust together, and over the course of one crazy night in New York City, the two begin to fall in love.

This is a nice, light enough romantic comedy, but it’s far too cheesy to be properly convincing or emotional, and there’s a lack of top quality humour throughout, and despite the odd little laugh here and there, this is nothing more than your generic teen comedy, even though it often intends to be something much more dramatic.

The best thing about this film is the music. Although some of it is very weak made-up stuff, the majority of the backing soundtrack is very pleasant and appropriate, although it can sometimes be a little overpowering within scenes. If you’re an indie music fan, this might be one to watch just to listen to, because the rest of it isn’t all that impressive.

Of course, this is light enough to not be an irritating rom-com, which is more than can be said for most of the genre, and it’s got a feel-good story that contains very little that goes wrong, so if it’s a sick day or something, this might be a good one to put on.

However, the story and the comedy are just so weak. Firstly, the plot involves these two characters who have never met falling in love with each other over the course of one night (even though it all seems to happen within the first five seconds), and that feels far too forced within the story, as it pushes this ‘love at first sight’/’music connects people’ message way too hard, leaving it as a really cheesy drama rather than a convincing and emotional romance.

Meanwhile, the level of comedy here is not very impressive. Again, there’s some light-hearted joshing throughout, but the majority is just repetitive teen slapstick, à la American Pie, which isn’t all that funny to watch, and it definitely doesn’t sit right with the more ‘dramatic’ side of the film.

Overall, this gets a 6.5, because despite having a nice light-hearted feel and a good soundtrack, this is a largely generic rom-com with poor comedy and a pushy, cheesy romance.