Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

This film takes place over the course of one wild night. Set in New York’s Lower East Side, it references the many clubs that exist in that part of town, as the teens hop from the Bowery Ballroom to the Mercury Lounge in search of a secret show by their favorite band, Where’s Fluffy. Along the way, Nick (Michael Cera), the guitarist in a crappy queercore band, meets Norah (Kat Dennings), the daughter of a famous music producer, and she enlists him to be her boyfriend for the night, just to keep her superficial friend Tris (Alexis Dziena) from making fun of her. When it coincidentally turns out that Tris is the girl for whom Nick has been making mix disc after mix disc in the hopes of winning her back after she abruptly broke up with him, Norah has to rethink her whole plan. Nick is still hung up on Tris, and that’s an obstacle Norah can’t seem to overcome. Along the way, Norah’s friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) gets so drunk, she wanders off, and Norah and the guys in Nick’s band go out looking for her. The plot is a bit stagnant (think of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry and his friends can’t find their car in the parking structure), and the only thing that (barely) holds the film together is its terrific soundtrack. HH 1/2