Fall in love with Kat Dennings and Michael Cera

As a teen comedy with romantic leanings, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist doesn't try too hard, but it doesn't have to. Lacking any lofty aspirations, Pete Sollett's movie actually delivers what is needed in a plot centering around one sleepless night in New York City. Shared moments of awkwardness and scenes of mundane comedy fail to taint the movie and, instead, color the story with a tone of genuine realism.

The movie follows Nick and Nora, after a chance matching at one of Nick's band's shows. Nora just happens to go to the same school as Nick's self-absorbed ex and after discovering not only a similar taste in music but also an entrenched fanaticism for the band Where's Fluffy, they decide to go on a nighttime search for the band's secret concert. Confusion and humor ensue as they run around New York, stopping here and there, all the time while chemistry and romance mix together.

Michael Cera and Kat Denning's characters almost work perfectly together. Each a little awkward, Dennings and Cera balance their sarcasm and almost lame humor. Together the pair's realistic first date chemistry is not only refreshing but also fun to watch.

Alternatively, Norah's wayward best friend, Caroline, provides comedic relief throughout the movie with drunken bad decisions. Fun and flawed, her character's ramblings may be a little bit of a stretch, but they still are entertaining. Although most of us can't say that we have dropped our cell phone in a train station toilet filled with puke (and most of us are probably grateful for this), we've probably been close. Nick and Nora are both ordinary kids - they aren't Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, and matched together, they aren't an unrealistic pair. Their romantic situation entering the night is filled with the same kind of ambiguity found in modern interpersonal relations: the kind that often doesn't have a clear definition or label understood by anyone, especially the person(s) involved. In the film, the romantic subplots and their inevitable clash come off a little sloppy and at first confusing, but isn't that how it is?

Many times in the movie, the situations are awkward, the wanderings are directionless, and the intentions of the characters are often unfounded. In a feature film, this is not to be expected; it is exactly what a screenwriter should avoid. But it works, and perhaps we have Sollett to thank for this. In his belated follow-up to Raising Victor Vargas, he successfully satisfies Hollywood while remaining true to his film roots. Nick and Norah's maintains that sense of originality in an approachable mass-audience way.

Unlike some of the more messy scenes, there was an expectation for a great soundtrack. Maybe it was the subtle placement of the word "playlist" within the title. Maybe it was the clips of Cera playing a musical instrument in the trailer, suggesting more than just poster font similarities with another Cera movie (hint: not Superbad). It could have had something to do with the announced guest appearances of Bishop Allen and Devendra Banhart, but in the end, even seeing these two couldn't change that the sound of the movie didn't live up to its name.

Yes, there were some original tracks, and I won't lie and say I never caught myself tapping along to the beat, but besides adding a little hip to the movie, the soundtrack wasn't any better than the weekly songs heard on Gossip Girl. Distracting the audience from awkward silences with the next great song never to be played on mainstream radio may work on the CW for 30 minutes, but in the theater, it isn't going to go unnoticed for the whole hour and a half. Overall, the film's emphasis on its soundtrack was more distracting than useful.

If Nick's bedroom wall art is cliched, and the one-too-many-awkward-orgasms scene tries too hard to fill the all-too-important sex quota, Nick and Norah's still holds onto its own sense of charm. The movie is quaint and fun, and it's an unglamorous teen romance that may not be perfect, but still somehow manages to make you smile. B