NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (2008 - Cert 12A)

After my girlfriend and I finished watching this film I turned to her and said 'I really, really enjoyed that'. To which she taunted me with 'Ha ha, you like a Rom-com'.

I refuted her allegation immediately, denying that it was actually a rom-com. 'Of course it is', she responded. 'It was about two people falling for each other and it made you laugh'. She had me there. Of course it was a rom-com. If you break that title down, Rom = romantic and Com = comedy, it couldn't be anything else. The question I asked myself was, why did I protest so much? Rom-Com has become a term that is immediately sneered at, to some people it isn't even a genre, it's simply a derogatory way to describe a film. I admit I'm not the biggest fan of the field but all Rom-coms, even the one's starring Jennifer Aniston (ie all of them), do contain romance and do attempt to make audiences laugh, but why do so many fail on both counts, while Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist charmed the pants off me?



When I read the blurb I was convinced it was going to irritate me. It was about two youngsters, their friends and one night out in the Indie-world of New York as they try to track down the venue of a secret gig that their favourite band is playing. Basically all the things that annoy me about the cool part of East London (please note that this is all jealousy, I wish I was cool. But I am not. Simple as that). However the film didn't try to play up to that knowing, self-indulgent Indie vibe that is taking so many cities by storm. It recognises it, at times embraces it but at others takes the mick out of it. Not in a spoof way, not a broad way, not even in a nasty way, just like shy friendly banter.

The other thing that caused bad preconceptions was the casting of Michael Cera as Nick. I liked him in Juno, I liked him in Superbad, but by the time Scott Pilgrim came around, I was convinced that he had started to irritate me and he was on the way down. How could he keep getting away with being the same person in all his films? After this film though, I was back in Camp Cera. He doesn't do anything differently, he is still the shy, geeky, self-deprecating teen muttering funny musings quietly, but it goes back to being endearing, not annoying. My brief stint of dissatisfaction with Cera should now probably be attributed to one of the many failings of Scott Pilgrim rather than anything else.

What good is Cera if the other half of the romance is rubbish though? e Kat Dennings, who you may recognise as the teenage daughter from The 40 Year Old Virgin, is on love interest duty here. Like Cera, I really liked her performance. She had the difficult job of having to be likeable enough to make Nick (and us) fancy her a bit but also down to earth and plain enough to make her attainable. The ultimate girl next door. She manages it though, she's never irritating and makes a fully-dimensional character that keeps proceedings more than interesting.

So, the first thing you need to make a rom-com exactly that, a comedy with romance, is a central couple that the viewer likes and empathises with. The second thing that is important is the supporting cast. Its hard to have an entire film hinging completely on two people, so those supplementing the action are important. In this film we have his friends, her friends and their respective ex's. His friends are his gay mates who make up his band (The Jerk Offs) played by Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron. Both are funny, and have a bit of fun with being gay but don't ram any stereotypes down your throat. Her friend is played by Ari Gaynor and is a drunk who gets lost midway through the night. Her scenes contain the broadest comedy, ie puking, but the film just about gets away with it, by making the puking quite charming (honestly, it does). The ex's Alexis Dziena and Jay Baruchel are nasty and annoying enough respectively to mean we all root for their downfall.

So, a couple at the centre of it who we like, a host of supporting players to make sure everything ticks along and stays interesting. Its not enough though to guarantee that the romance and the comedy stay afloat. We need to leave the cinema or remove the DVD with a warm and fuzzy feeling, our emotions need to echo those of the leads.

Nick and Norah really pulls it off though. I think the key ingredient is the innocence that the film has. The characters are all young, but they don't seem to be too desperate to grow up and get stuck into proper relationships. The love on show here is unspoilt and naive. The closing scene in a recording studio sums the film up perfectly, essentially a sex scene, but without the sex and without seeing anything whatsoever. It's done beautifully and stays consistent to the theme of music (the film has a smashing soundtrack) that runs throughout. It's a scene that finishes with the same socially awkward shyness that is always there with both Nick and Norah and one that resulted in me choking back tears.

So the romance is there but is the comedy? Yes it is, and resoundingly so. The writing and dialogue is funny and sharp, the scrapes they all get into are funny but don't feel too forced, there is enough 'gross out' and physical humour to keep our inner kids happy. It's all there and done in a sufficiently touching way to be consistent with the tone of the film.

We've all watched rom-coms over the years, so I challenge you to think back, really rack your brains and try to think of one that contains all the elements. Two leads who you immediately like, who you empathise with, a relationship that you believe in, smaller parts that don't grate and annoy, plot twists that don't feel contrived and there for the sake of it, but most of all a heart.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a film that perfectly sums up the teenage crush. It might not always go according to plan, but despite that it seems like the most important thing in the world and you're convinced that nothing will ever damage it. And for that moment it is both pure and perfect.

A snapshot of youth.

JENNIFER'S BODY (2009)

Diablo Cody made a name for herself with her script for the much loved and hyped Juno, she won an Oscar and a Bafta, she was nominated for a Golden Globe. She was marked for big things and everyone waited with anticipation to see what her next move would be. I'm not sure anyone thought it might take the shape of Jennifer's Body, a high school horror film.



Megan Fox (yes the really irritating one from Transformers) is Jennifer, popular high school chick/slapper. She is friends with, and has been since they were kids, Needy Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfried). I don't think the name Needy is a coincidence, as she constantly craves the approval of her cooler pal resulting in a very one-way relationship. Then after the pair are caught up in a fire at a local bar, a rock band and their devil worshipping ways see a change in Jennifer's behaviour. First there are just mood swings and the occasional bad hair day, then things really get bad as she starts eating boys at her school. The story is all told in flashback by Needy, who is locked up in prison - 'how has she got there' we ask ourselves.

Nothing original there then and all a bit daft - for most of the film I found myself thinking that Cody had copped out and attempted to do a 'genre' piece but forgetting to actually put any effort into it. And when I wasn't thinking that, I was bored. I had seen this sort of thing many times before, and other than the occasional witty quip, it felt staler than the contents of my badly maintained fridge.

Fox is perfectly adequate in this, basically playing the village bicycle which isn't too much of a stretch for her, but she can't quite manage to get as much out of Cody's screenwriting as the undoubtedly more talented Ellen Page in Juno. Seyfried is a bit more interesting, nerdy girl trying to make sense of all this madness while at the same time coming to terms with love, life and growing up.  Oh and saving the school as well. Johnny Simmons makes up the cast as Needy's boyfriend Chip, essentially playing Michael Cera, the now standard issue geek performance, but as well as Michael Cera.

Then we hit the final act and things get a bit more interesting. Jennifer turns up at the High School dance which will effectively be a buffet table for her carnivorous appetite and focuses her attention on poor Chip. This all culminates in a nicely done battle between Jennifer and Needy with some fizzy banter that shows Cody can still do it and doesn't end as you would anticipate. Then we have one final pay off that again, is far from predictable and is also little upsetting.

The best part of the film though is the closing credits (not in a sarcastic way), as we are treated to stills of a vengeful bloodbath in a hotel room with some nasty imagery. It's a great way to end the story, instead of just tacking the scene on at the end of the film which would have made it feel overlong and baggy. A nice touch.

So, a ploddingly predictable and largely unoriginal film until the last 15 minutes, when it all of a sudden becomes enjoyable and a bit left field. If you are a Megan Fox fan, you will probably love it (and you should be ashamed of yourself), but if you aren't, it's just about worth a watch. Only just though.

This is 3rd film I've seen recently where the majority of the film isn't very good but picks up at the end to trick us into thinking the film was more enjoyable than it actually was. This film, Tron: Legacy and The Proposal all had me looking at my watch, then there is a decent finale and I come away thinking, that wasn't that bad....is this a good thing? Well I always maintain that the ending is the most important part of a film, you must get that right otherwise you feel let down (such as Deja Vu). However, having said that, it doesn't give you the right to not bother with 75% of a movie only to ensure that the finale pays off and has us all leaving the cinema in a good mood.