Filmmaking has the power to influence and define a generation.  From Rebel Without a Cause to American Graffiti to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, from The Breakfast Club to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Footloose and Juno, coming-of-age movies become touchstones for us.  So-called 'teen films' rely on iconic characters, pop music, broad humor and clever dialog to capture a snapshot of an era.  These films resonate with younger audiences and spark nostalgia with older ones.  When they’re poor films, they fade away.  When they’re well done, they become standards for their generations. NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, brilliantly adapted from the novel of the same title by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, will become a cinematic anthem for the current crop of young people.  The story centers on six high school seniors from New Jersey, three boys and three girls.  They embark on a mission to attend a performance by their favorite band, Where’s Fluffy, who are rumored to be appearing that evening in the city.  Where’s Fluffy is known for not announcing their rare appearances.  They leave clues with radio disc-jockeys and on club walls for their fans to follow.  The quest to find Fluffy becomes an all-night challenge that forms the framework for love, heartbreak, self-discovery, loneliness, and friendship.

The story is set against the spectacular backdrop of New York City at night.  The entire movie was filmed on location in the city and it’s a visual treat.  The music overlaying the majesty of New York is fresh, modern, and seamless.  And the six young people at the center of the story are smart, clever, confused and a little afraid.  The story in a nutshell:  Nick is in a drummer-less indie band with his two buddies Thom and Dev.  He cherishes his car, an ancient-looking yellow Yugo, and makes mix CDs for his ex-girlfriend Tris, who has dumped him for a college boy.  Norah and Caroline are classmates of Tris.  Norah retrieves the mix CDs from the trash and loves the music.  After Nick’s band plays a set at a New York City club, Norah runs into Tris, who asks why Norah is there alone.  Norah lies that she’s there with her boyfriend, walks up to Nick, begs him to be her boyfriend for five minutes and kisses him soundly.  From that moment on, it’s apparent that love will bloom between the two.  And just as you’d expect, the night’s adventures keep Nick and Norah from their destiny until the sun peeks over the skyline.

Yes, the plot is rather formulaic: boy loses girl, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl wrecks Yugo, boy and girl go back to New Jersey.  Yes, we know from the outset that Nick and Norah will end up an hour apart.  Yes, we know that no harm will come to these six kids loose in the big city in the wee hours of the morning.  The charm of Nick and Norah is its unapologetic sweetness.  The movie is nearly as innocent as its characters are.  Their search for music is also a search for love, colored with the emotional intensity that only teenagers possess.  NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is a scavenger hunt of the heart, and the prize is the realization that the music is only a soundtrack for the events that occur while it’s playing.

The young cast is sharp and talented.  Michael Cera plays the rather bewildered Nick and brings a depth to the character that makes him instantly believable.  Kat Dennings is a quick and caring Norah, trying hard to establish her own identity separate from her famous father.  Aaron Yoo, who shone as a kleptomaniac math whiz in 21, shines again here as Nick’s gay bandmate Thom, sweet tempered and adventurous.  Ari Graynor is the drunken Caroline, who only wants to be sure no one is mad at her.  She does not overplay her lack of control; a highlight of the film is her weepy one-sided conversation with a man in the Port Authority bus station.  The one weak link in the actor chain is Alexis Dziena as Tris.  She drenches her character with a smarmy sexiness that seems overdone and out of place.

NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is director Peter Sollett’s first general-release film, and it’s a brilliant start to what will hopefully be a long and interesting career.  A native New Yorker, he uses the city as a larger-than-life sparkling playground for his young actors.  He also reminds us that alternative and independent music has been the heartbeat of the city and continues to pulse just under the surface.  The city and music seem inseparable.   This is one soundtrack album that should fly off music-store shelves.  The film’s dialog is authentic and witty, and the writers have been exceptionally careful to avoid any feeling of self-awareness.  I expect an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay for writers Lorene Scafaria, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.