'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist': A Fine Flick for Teens 

By Martha Brockenbrough
MSN Cinemama

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See also: Cinemama's review of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" 

The media just adore making teens seem like intellectual cretins. But, by one measure at least, they're leaving grown-ups in the dust.

While adults read 20 percent less than they did in 1982, teen reading has soared more than 20 percent in the past few years alone. Lots of people have called this the new "golden age" for young adult literature, and they're right, even though the grown-up media haven't totally caught on.

This is why you see so many book-to-movie adaptations for kids, and why some adults are taken by surprise by the popularity of certain books, such as "Twilight."

So brace yourselves for the movie version of "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," a cute, sweet and extremely funny flick starring Michael Cera as himself/Nick, and Kat Dennings as his cynical soul mate Norah.

First, a bit of background on the book.

Teens have read it in droves. And it's an excellent novel, co-written by the witty Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, a classic coming-of-age story set on one magical night in the New York punk rock scene where two kids who are meant to be together must overcome ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends and their own fears and insecurities before they can see their favorite band/live happily ever after.

The book takes no prisoners. The f-word appears throughout. It contains references to sex, drinking, drugs, pregnancy and all the other peaks and valleys of the teen landscape. It's also written beautifully and sensitively, in a way that provides hope, comfort, compassion and inspiration.

In other words, it's just the sort of thing that freaks people out. And it's just the sort of thing parents and their teens should be reading together so that they can connect on deep levels, even if they don't share the same opinions and experiences.

The movie version might actually be a better introduction for squeamish parents than the book. It's significantly more cheerful, and, while rated PG-13 for teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior, it's less of a shock to a delicate system than the book.

What's in It for Kids?

First things first. This is not a movie for elementary school students, though I spotted one of those -- and a toddler, too! -- in a screening. You sometimes just have to wonder what's going through people's heads: the theme song for Meow Mix?

I'd also think twice about bringing a middle schooler to a movie about teenagers who stay out all night in clubs, sometimes drinking to excess and often taking unwise sexual liberties.

For high schoolers, though, this movie is right on the money. It's a love story, but it's also about friends and what we owe them. On another level, it's a story about the difference between passion and posing, and how the former makes for the better life.

Many scenes in the movie are actually funnier than in the book, and, overall, the movie has a much lighter feel. The drunken BFF Caroline, played gamely by Ari Graynor, does things with gum that will bust guts with laughter, nausea, or both.

Though Cera doesn't break stride with his character from "Juno," "Superbad" or "Arrested Development," his portrayal of a punk band's bass player is completely endearing. Some people will knock him for delivering what amounts to an encore, but he's just so good at this role. Do you ask Dolly Parton to stop singing country? Or do you just love her and her giant, crazy boobs a little bit more every year?

Like Parton, Cera is comfort food: macaroni or mashed potatoes (or, if you're a French rodent, ratatouille). Write this sort of thing off at your peril, especially when the rest of the world appears to be falling into pieces around us.

What's in It for Parents?

I don't see a lot of teenagers seeing "Nick and Norah" with their mom and dad. The orgasm references alone might cause lifelong trauma to both sides.

But parents can catch it later, and say, "Wasn't it good that Norah made sure her very drunk friend made it home safely? Isn't it nice that Norah doesn't need to drink alcohol or take drugs to have a good time?"

OK, maybe that would not be an ideal way to talk about these things, but certainly the movie and book give openings for discussions.

Stories are actually a really safe way to do this with kids, says Lorie Ann Grover, a founder of the teen-reading organization readergirlz. (Chat with "Nick and Norah" author Rachel Cohn on readergirlz, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. PST.)

"No one feels they are at risk discussing these fictional scenarios," Grover said. "That freedom to exchange ideas is the very door which moves the conversation into life experiences."

Want more?

Read Cinemama's review of Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Take a look at another review for "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"

 Martha Brockenbrough is MSN's Cinemama, for the Parents' Movie Guide. She is also the author of Things That Make Us [Sic], a guide to funny bad grammar published by St. Martin's press. She also blogs about family life for Cozi.com, and writes an educational humor column for Encarta. Check out her Web site.

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