Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Based on the book of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist takes place during one night in New York City when Nick, the only straight member of a gay band and Norah, the only Jew in a Catholic girls' school accidentally meet and gradually fall in love.
 
Nick's band, The Jerk Offs, is playing in a club one night where his ex-girlfriend, Tris, is in the audience with a school friend of hers, Norah.  Nick doesn't know that they are at school together and Norah doesn't know that the bassist that she's been making eyes at is the lad who her friend has just dumped and whose mix CDs (he's made 12 already) she's been picking out of the bin and loving. 
 

When The Jerk Offs finish their set and Tris, with a new beau on her arm, starts picking on Norah about how she is single, Norah walks up to Nick at the bar, asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend and starts passionately kissing him.  Her best friend Caroline is hopelessly drunk and, to both help her and get out of the awkward conversation with Tris, Norah helps Caroline from the club and Nick decides to help out.  Seeing the chemistry between the two, Nick's bandmates decide to help things along with the aid of some sexier lingerie for Norah and words of advice for Nick.  It's at this point that the green eyed monster arrives and Tris decides she wants Nick back and Norah's ex, Tal, decides he's interested again. 
 
During the evening, they try and locate the mystery venue where their favourite band Where's Fluffy are going to play and there's a fantastic journey of both the inebriated Caroline and a piece of gum. 
 

Starring Michael Cera as Nick (who again plays a lovelorn geek) and Kat Dennings as Norah, who I last saw as a tragically unattractive creature in the abysmal House Bunny, this has a fantastic supporting cast and real chemistry between the two leads. You know from near the beginning, if you haven't already guessed from the cover, that Nick and Norah will end up together and, in true rom-com fashion, they do. 
 
It doesn't matter that you know how the film ends before it begins as it's all about the journey and interactions between the two and their wider circle of friends. As the title suggests, music plays a large part in the film and there is a terrific selection of indie rock and more widely known hits, ranging from Modest Mouse and The Ravonettes to Hot Chocolate and Dusty Springfield. 
 

This is the sort of film that I normally would have given a wide berth but my brother saw it at the cinema and enjoyed it so, taking his word for it, decided to give this a look and I'm glad I did.  It's an utterly charming and endearing film that has some good laughs and ends well - it doesn't outstay its welcome.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
There are two commentaries on the disc, the first with director Peter Sollett, Michael Cera, Kat Dennings and Ari Graynor who have a telestrator so they can draw on the screen.  The commentary is okay but the point of the telestrator escapes me as this isn't a football game where John Madden would illustrate how the wide receiver beat the safety, or Stuart Barnes shows how the miss pass led to the try.  Most of the time the girls write 'sexy' on the screen or draw hearts over people which is trying and quite childish. Fortunately, the other commentary is much more revealing, though drier, with Sollett joined by screenwriter Lorene Scafaria and novelists Rachel Cohn and David Levithan who talk about the book and the process of adapting it for the screen, filming and their cameo. 
 
Aside from the commentaries there is quite a wealth of material on the disc, including a good selection of deleted and extended scenes, a pretty boring blooper reel, a music video by Bishop Allen (who appear as themselves headlining the gig where The Jerk Offs play), some animated storyboards with an interesting optional commentary and a photo gallery.  There are a couple of pretty pointless and infantile featurettes, such as a faux interview and Ari Graynor's video diary. 
 
The Blu-ray Disc has some exclusive features, including the 'telestrator' commentary, with use of the BD-Live function.  Nick & Norah's Interactive Playlist allows you to watch the film and the artist and title of the music that plays appears at the bottom corner with the idea you can make your own playlist and then upload it to your BD-Live profile.  This option automatically selects a trivia track so nuggets of information appear in the opposite corner so even if you are not at all interested in compiling a playlist, there is still a reason to select this.  There's also the CineChat option whereby you can virtually chat to your friends about the film whilst watching it. 
 

The Picture
Shot, for the most part, hand held with long lenses to give the film a slightly hazy and romantic look, the picture quality is fantastic despite some slight (and I mean slight) grain.  The shots of New York City are wonderfully detailed with excellent colours and contrast, and the skin tones are consistently good.  Peter Sollett uses slow motion to good effect, emphasising the more emotive scenes.
 
*The pictures contained in this review are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the image quality of the disc.*
 
The Sound
A wonderfully clear Dolby TrueHD soundtrack with, as I said, a great selection of source music which goes well with Mark Mothersbaugh's fine score.  The dialogue is perfectly clear and the surrounds are used well, whether to put you in the middle of a busy club or just with quiet atmospherics in the soundstage.  There is an Italian option plus a host of subtitles.  For the visually impaired there is an Audio Descriptive track, but this is only in English. 
 

Final Thoughts
This isn't the sort of film I would typically watch and enjoy but it is a lovely story that is very well put together and acted.  Michael Cera risks being forever typecast as a slightly soppy geek with similar roles in Superbad, Juno and the TV series Arrested Development but he plays this sort of character so well that it's no surprise that he is being forever cast in these roles. Kat Dennings is much more impressive than I had previously seen and she apparently identified with this character more than any other she had played which would explain why.  The supporting cast are excellent, with Alexis Dziena as Nick's manipulative and slightly heartless ex but Ari Graynor practically steals the show as the permanently inebriated Caroline who has her favourite puking holes! 
 
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist reminds me a little of In Search of a Midnight Kiss, another film I unexpectedly enjoyed; this is a very good disc of a wonderful film (despite the uninspiring extras) that should appeal to more than the usual rom-com fans.