Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Having just read the book it’s time to move on to the film¹. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the title characters.

It’s an interesting adaptation, reasonably faithful to the book with a little extra padding to give it a bit more structure and story arc, especially for the supporting cast. Michael Cera is not who you’d jump to as a sort of indie-rocker guy who Kat Dennings might instantly swoon over but once they get over that hump there is a sort of spark between them. And they both know how to deliver the dry jokes the cool 90s kids were into.

There’s a few tonal shifts that don’t really fit and perhaps out of necessity it’s a lot less steamy than the book. It also narratively plays it much straighter than the book does, making little effort to show us what the leads are thinking (the novel is told in the first person, flitting between Nick and Norah).

But it’s an enjoyable enough film in its own right and that’s perhaps what matters most. I had a good time with these two insufferable idiots! I’d never heard of the director, but writer Lorene Scafaria went on to direct the wonderful Hustlers² so maybe that’s why it works so well.

As a Sheffielder I enjoyed hearing some Richard Hawley in the soundtrack. As a car pervert I enjoyed seeing a Yugo play an important part in the film.