MichaelRunyon.com – All Things Geek

Last night, Leah and I went to the dollar theater to see Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Given the highly comedic nature of the other works that I have seen the headlining actors in previous to this, I was somewhat excited about yet another great movie full of snarky dialogue and faux angst (a la Apatow). However, I found the movie to move very slowly. It’s dialogue was too weak to carry my attention through the long lapses in the story’s motion, and the gags that made you smile or laugh were squeezed so absolutely hard that by the end you were yearning for some kind of comic relief. 

The movie is a classic example of trying to ride the success of the actors, rather than the picture. The actors are well known for acting in certain kinds of movies, and producing a certain kind of product, via their delivery and genre looks. But this picture squanders all of that, trying to promote some ethereal air of romance between two characters that have never met except through music mixes. The over the top ex-girlfriend seems somewhat forced, and the prolonged longing of the male protagonist is not well displayed nor well understood by the audience. The chemistry between the two lead characters is not cute enough to evoke feelings of sympathy and not strong enough to carry a real bond. 

The scene stealers (the gay friends/band-mates and the drunk friend) do their parts, but in the end, we don’t see/know enough about them to really get a laugh, and their motives in the movie are plain, unexciting and clearly stated. We are never suspended and waiting for what is to happen next. We are only waiting for the the director and the scene to get on with it so that we can get out of our seats with somewhat a good feeling about both the actions of the characters onscreen and the actions of ourselves, for coming to the movie. But I found myself ultimately dissapointed in both regards. I found myself more bored during this film, even though I only paid $1.50 for it, then I have been at the movies in a long time. 

Overall Rating: 4.3/10

Synopsis: Though you may be intrigued by the past appearance of the characters in this movie, they are not well supported by a threadbare and poorly written script, and a meandering plot stuffed so full of stereotypes that there is little left to laugh about.