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Amidst a hot pursuit of a mystifying band named Where's Fluffy?, a central romantic thread between two talented leads, and a taxi ride-like tour around Manhattan's locales, a film called Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist lies in cinematic jail. With Judd Apatow alumni Michael Cera (Superbad) and Kat Dennings (The 40 Year Old Virgin) coasting through scenes because the material is neither funny nor believable, this teen flick had vast promise which has not been released on society. Our two leads share music tastes and hook-up. Add a zest of humour and a pinch of quasi-dramatic teenage woe and one has what equates to be the basic plot foundation. The 'infinite playlist' could have at least been more striking instead of a collection of lacklustre mix CDs. Even though the piece was written by New Yorkers, about New York and shot in the Big Apple, doesn't mean the audience has to be subjected to the underground sound of the 'City that Never Sleeps!' as well, especially with such insipid tunes.
Ironically, Peter Sollett's film doesn't really have much wrong with it apart from some obvious minor flaws which together grow into a big problem. Ignoring the Taxi Driver-inspired sightseeing jaunt around the Lower East Side and the frequency by which characters seemingly bump into each other in an urban area containing eighteen million inhabitants with such ease, Cera and Dennings glue the segments together and mooch along, invaluably adding to the hotchpotch of a film. For example, are the audience supposed to believe that Nick's (Cera in one of his hushed manchild roles yet again) ex-girlfriend is school vixen Tris (Alexis Dziena)? Plot loopholes such as this are seemingly ignored, stay unexplained and make the film suffer. However, on a positive note, the screenwriter, Lorene Scafaria, injects an unorthodox view of the homosexual male stereotype with band The Jerk-Offs and the understated comedy throughout is praiseworthy because the recurrent dry humour assorted with the gross-out guffaws regarding chewing gum are impossible to dislike. It's just a shame the cinephiles among us couldn't have been asked to work a little harder and invest more energy into a plot which requires commitment to find appealing. Even the reliable Jay Buruchel is on cruise control, and the standard teen movie supporting cast fail to muster any cracking one-liners. With everyone gliding along, why should we care?
The summary
Though harmless entertainment, shallow characterisation and a lack of engaging sentimentality dampen the nostalgic trip down Adolescent Lane.
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