Like most book-to-movie deals, “”Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”” is much better in paper format.
Since it’s co-authored by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, it makes a pretty good effort on behalf of both sexes. Each chapter switches back and forth between the main characters’, Nick and Norah’s, perspectives and it’s funny and interesting to allow both sides to have a say in a story.
Nick is the only straight (-edge) male in a queer core band whose name changes every time they play a show and Norah is a girl (also straight-edge) he meets at one of the bars they play. It’s a typical boy meets girl under strange circumstances (what story isn’t?), but written with a keen grasp on the Indie crowd. Each are hung up on previous relationships, and not long after they meet they’re bent on finding the secret show of the ultimate underground band Where’s Fluffy?
It’s every college kid’s dream to meet a special someone at a bar and spend the rest of the night getting to know them and the fact that Nick and Norah are in high school is the only unrealistic part of this wild night in New York. They’re so ridiculously human it’s beautiful and like most people, they’re just trying to sort out their own problems, but they’re careful about letting the other person know.
Nick and Norah are each resolving each other’s heartbreak and everlasting pain and unfortunate parents and fears of the future. Seriously, this book has everything going on in the average teen’s life. They each run into their exes a fair number of times but they get better at dealing with it as the night goes on, turning to each other for some kind of consolation.
The movie errs in its attempt to appeal to a wider audience through humor and a more focused plot. The book relies on the internal dialogue of the main characters and it’s here that so much of the cherished character development takes place. The movie can’t manifest the feelings behind the character’s words, so it’s difficult to understand Norah’s fears of the future or Nick’s attachment to his ex-girlfriend.
It really is just about a boy and a girl and how they’re trying to interact, but this one has heart and soul and even if you don’t care about Nick and Norah, you can’t stop turning the page.
Rating: ****
