For this week’s Disc Dive I’m revisiting a movie that I haven’t seen since it initially released back in 2008. Let’s check out what might be one of the whitest movie released that year with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
Title: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Director: Peter Sollett
Released: October 3, 2008 (United States)
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Disc Format: DVD
Nick (Michael Cera) is struggling to get over Tris (Alexis Dziena). Ever since she dumped him, he’s been making her mixed CDs, carefully curating each one in the hopes that maybe this time she’ll stick around. The problem? She hasn’t been sticking around at all. Every disc ends up in the trash. Nick doesn’t know this, of course.
What he also doesn’t know is that someone else has been listening to those CDs. Norah (Kat Dennings), Tris’s friend, has been quietly appreciating his taste in music. When she runs into Nick at one of his band’s shows, Tris shows up too, along with her new boyfriend. Norah finds herself backed into a corner by Tris about her own love life. The solution? Walk right up to a cute stranger and kiss him.
That stranger happens to be Nick.
What starts as proving a point becomes something more when Nick and Norah, along with Nick’s bandmates and Norah’s friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) who’s had one too many drinks, end up chasing the same thing that night: a secret show from their favorite band, Where’s Fluffy?
Can they find the show in time?
And will a chance encounter be what Nick needs to put Tris behind him?
The only memory of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist that I had is them chasing down a band’s secret show. I was in the mood for a light watch this week and figured this would probably be a safe bet. Turns out it most certainly was.
Let’s point out the obvious right away: this is an overwhelmingly white film. On a first-time rewatch in 2026, it’s hard to ignore the lack of diversity outside of bandmate Thom (Aaron Yoo).
The biggest weakness with this though is that the plot itself is razor-thin. There isn’t much here at all. However, the chemistry between Cera and Dennings is able to overcome the weak plot. Cera is always perfect as the “lovable loser” type and there’s something charming about the way he and Dennings interact.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist knows what it is, stays in its lane, and delivers a solid romcom with a tight runtime. It’s also worth revisiting as part of any one-night movie marathon.
If you’ve yet to see it, it’s worth checking out. And if you’ve already seen it, throw it on again and see how it holds up.
Well, now it’s your turn.
If you’ve seen Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, leave a comment below or reach out on Bluesky and tell me what you thought of it!
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