Rama’s SCREEN

NICK & NORAH is a teen romantic comedy that will definitely hit home with today’s MTV generation. The movie knows who its target audiences are and in a way, it celebrates those who are into… Indie rock underground bands that seem to be making it into teens’ Ipod playlist. Some may find this as a movie that tries too hard to be cool, open-minded and cute at the same time, and I don’t blame them. I supposed the charm is not for them to enjoy.

Two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living, and, live, loud music. Nick (Michael Cera) frequents New York’s indie rock scene nursing a broken heart and a vague ability to play the bass. Norah (Kat Dennings) is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band’s secret show and ends up becoming the first date in a romance that could change both their lives.

Maybe I’m just out of touch, but hearing the tunes and the song selection that this movie has for its accompaniment, makes me wanna update my Ipod playlist to keep up with whatever the youngsters are listening to these days and be hip again.
It’s one of those movies that take you on a tour where everything happens and resolves in one night and the story centers around a few characters. They say, put two strangers in one place long enough and they’ll feel a certain attraction to each other, that’s what this movie’s got. At times, it feels like a movie that should be directed by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Let’s talk about Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Cera, in this movie, is practically the same Cera we’ve seen in Arrested Development series and Superbad, he’s good at being that man-child character where he could be uncomfortable and surprisingly profound at the same time. The differene is, in NICK & NORAH, there are moments that you could just tell Cera has been sharpening his acting skills especially the emotional state of it all. Kat Denings first caught my attention in the movie Charlie Bartlett andI have to admit, there is a chemistry between her character and Cer’s character. Nick can’t move on from the break-up and Norah wants to be with a guy who’s not in it just because of who her dad is. Those two will make the story worth following even when every other aspect starts to become non-complimentary. And of course, teens will watch this movie and go “Aww!”

The comedy is a hit and miss. Some scenes will make you laugh and cheeer and others will make you feel you’ve gone dumber without realizing it. I really like the movie’s take on NYC’s party nightlife, it shows off the city that never sleeps. Once in a while, the movie will throw in cameos from Hollywood’s familiar faces just to keep you alert and I haven’t read the book that this movie’s based on but I’m glad the plot does have a few elements (the band Fluffy, Norah’s friend gone missing)  that become the purpose for that evening, the reason for the two main characters to still stick around to the end.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this movie