“…Friends With Benefits…”All cool movies have a secret weapon – and in “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” - it’s KAT DENNINGS.
Not since Emily Blunt in "The Jane Austen Book Club" have I seen an actress so utterly gobsmacking in every way – a young woman who is just going to be the hugest star.
Possessed of a main of flowing red hair, Dennings is extraordinarily voluptuous - her chest is likely to make most men take a dip in the Volga to cool down – and even that won’t work - her lips are so succulent that it may be detrimental to your heart rhythms to write about them let alone actually experience them - and don’t get me started on her eyes - as vast and as deep and as beautiful as Natasha McElhone – one of the classiest actresses in the entire world.
But none of this would matter if there wasn’t that 'X' factor about Dennings that so many of the other wannabes don’t have – Kat is the kind of actress the camera adores. And on top of this, she engenders genuine affection in her audience - men will fall hopelessly in love with her, while women will want to be her best buddy and pal. It’s very, very rare – it really is – and this young Philadelphia lady has it all in spades.
“Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” is a 2009 teen romcom adapted by LORENE SCAFARIA from the hip novel by RACHEL COHN and is directed by PETER SOLLETT who had an Indie hit a few years back with “Raising Victor Vargas”.
Another breakthrough performance is that of Norah’s permanently pissed girlfriend Caroline brilliantly played by ARI GRAYNOR - she’s a blast as the ditzy blonde - very funny and very likeable (there’s a scene in a toilet involving puke, a mobile phone and chewing gum that will test your wince factor to the max and make you laugh out loud).
The fantastically evocative early hours New York locations are peppered with the usual Indie soundtrack (the BLU RAY images shine here) - while Noah’s three friends are an assortment of varying nutjobs in a gay band called “The Jerkoffs”. They drive around in their van all night arguing about their name and will abandon anyone and anything to find out the venue for a secret gig by ‘the’ band of the moment who are called “Where’s Fluff?” (there are rabbit logos all through the credits and movie).
MICHAEL CERA plays Nick (he seems to have cornered the market in dweeb guys), who is broken-hearted about his break-up with the feckless Tris (ALEXIS DZIENA) until he chances on Norah in a nightclub (KAT DENNINGS). His performance is essentially the same as Juno, and while he’s very good at it, it does stretch credibility a tad that babes like Norah and Tris would fancy him at all, let alone sleep with him. That aside – there is a genuine, lovely and undeniable chemistry between Cera and Dennings that carries the whole movie and keeps you watching and hoping to the end that they’ll make it… (no prizes for guessing what happens there).
“Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” is young, alive, hopeful and warm – and in a way that so many gross-out comedies fail to be nowadays. It’ll wheedle its way into your heart, it really will.
I liked it a lot…and if you’re looking for a nice night in – then look no further.
