In the movie “Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” as the only straight member of The Jerk Offs, music lover and soon-to-be high school graduate Nick (Michael Cera) is a regular on New York’s indie rock scene. He is also recovering from the brutal breakup of his last romance, mourning his lost relationship alone in his suburban New Jersey bedroom and making a seemingly endless stream of mix CDs for his shallow ex, Tris (Alexis Dziena), Norah Silverman (Kat Dennings) is the daughter of record industry royalty and, with college looming, she is questioning pretty much everything she knows about the world, including her on-again off-again relationship with an opportunistic musician named Tal (Jay Baruchel). A classmate and longtime frenemy of the heartless Tris, she’s been retrieving Nick’s mix CDs from the trash into which Tris routinely discards them. For Norah, the CDs seem to provide a window into the heart and mind of an unknown someone who just could be her perfect musical soul mate.
Their worlds collide when their favorite band, an elusive underground sensation known as “Where’s Fluffy,” announces a surprise concert in New York. Nick, Norah and the band’s other fans plan to spend the night trolling Manhattan, following obscure clues to find them.
Early in the evening, Norah and her friend Caroline check out a club where The Jerk Offs happen to be performing and she takes a shine to Nick when she sees them onstage. When Tris arrives at the same club, Norah impulsively asks Nick to pretend to be her boyfriend so Tris won’t know she’s dateless. For the same reason, he obliges, and one public display of affection later, the two are flabbergasted to discover their connection.
Not interested in Tris’ discards, Norah is ready to move on in her search for Fluffy, but her girlfriend Caroline has already partied too hard and Norah wants to get her home before she does anything (else) foolish. Afraid to risk getting Caroline on to a bus to New Jersey in her condition, Norah asks the band for a ride back to Englewood.
Nick’s bandmates Dev (Rafi Gavron) and Thom (Aaron Yoo) think they can spot the right girl for Nick in second. Eager to get their friend out from under Tris’ spell, they decide to engineer a little alone time for Nick and Norah. They agree to ferry Caroline home if Norah will stay and join Nick in the hunt for Where’s Fluffy.
In the close quarters of Nick’s “vintage” Yugo, the evening takes a turn for the worse as Norah and Nick rub each other the wrong way. When they run into Norah’s occasional boyfriend, it’s the last straw for Nick. Just as the pair decide to call it quits for the night, Dev and Thom call to alert them that Caroline has gone missing somewhere in the city.
As “Nick and Norah” roam Manhattan in search of Caroline, their love for music, yearning for love and quirky views of the world might just add up to one very unexpected night.
