Of romance, and Fluffy: ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist' at 15

The teen indie rock comedy, from 2008, paired Michael Cera and Kat Dennings in what looked at the time like a romcom for the ages. It didn’t quite turn out that way.

Here’s what I thought Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist would be, based on the first time I saw it at a press screening at some point in late September of 2008: 

I expected a huge hit, which would emerge as a generationally beloved romance, one that would continue Michael Cera’s winning streak, and also elevate Kat Dennings to movie stardom. I also expected the indie-rock-fueled soundtrack to become a phenomenon. 

But then the movie came out, on October 3, 2008 — 15 years ago today — and none of that happened. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist made $33.5 million, which was respectable enough, but it wasn’t a huge hit, nor did it ever emerge as any type of cultural juggernaut. Kat Dennings never played a lead role in a major movie again, although she has appeared in a bunch of Marvel projects. 

At the domestic box office, Nick and Norah was the 95th highest-grossing movie of 2008, although it only ended up five spots behind No Country For Old Men, which won Best Picture that year. 

Sure, the movie has its fans, both from its original release and those who have discussed it more recently. But it plainly didn’t break through. 

Why didn’t Nick and Norah have the impact that I thought it would, and hoped it would? This might just be one of those William Goldman “Nobody Knows Anything” moments. 

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist was adapted from the YA novel of the same name, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Lorene Scafaria, later the director of Hustlers, adapted the script, which was directed by Peter Sollett, best known for Raising Victor Vargas. It’s set entirely over the course of a single night in New York City, as a group of teenagers experience some adventures, some of them romantic while searching for a secret show by their favorite indie band, Where’s Fluffy? 

Norah (Dennings) is a high school senior in North Jersey, whose father is a famous record producer. Nick (Cera) is the lone straight member of a queercore punk band. He was recently dumped by his awful girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena), for whom he continues to make mix CDs that Norah intercepts, realizing they have identical musical tastes. 

The characters charge around Manhattan in search of both the band and Norah’s drunk friend Caroline (Ari Graynor), who gets drunk and somehow stays drunk for 12 more hours despite not continuing to drink. The gay band members, far from fans of Tris, try to bring the central couple together. 

Jay Baruchel is on hand as a scummy ex of Norah’s who’s using her to get his demo to her dad, while Dziena was probably best known for playing a girlfriend in a long arc on Entourage at around the same time.

Rewatching the movie, it remains incredibly charming. Dennings is a star, and I’m still not sure why she never really became one. Cera made the movie in the middle of his most successful run; the actor has really been in a lot of projects — Arrested Development, Juno, Superbad, and Twin Peaks: The Return — that mean a great deal to me.

The music is also wall-to-wall excellent, featuring a fine indie-rock soundtrack and an even better Mark Mothersbaugh score.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist mostly holds up, except for a few key areas where it very much does not. 

Despite taking place in New York City, there’s not a non-white person in sight, other than the one Asian guy. The script has lots of weird references to Judaism, including an out-of-nowhere invocation of Tikkun Olam. The gay characters are there almost entirely for comic relief and to encourage the straight couple to get together, as was often the case in the movies of the time.

And Nick… kind of sucks. It’s a trope very familiar today but less so in the pop culture of the aughts- he’s a nerdy “nice guy” who’s actually a bit of an asshole, prone to casual sexism and rape jokes. 

That said, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is an exceedingly sweet movie that deserved a better chance at the time. 

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is available to stream on most VOD platforms.