Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Based on a novel, Michael Cera and Kat Jennings star as two New Yorkers who fall in love as they search for their favorite band.
Liked
The likable character, cool music.
Hated
The chewing gum.
Thoughts
A cute movie, full of music.
Like other movies of its ilk, it overflowed with cool music from mostly current indie rock bands. Thankfully I never felt overkill, with only a select few actually being more than just background music. I loved the joke of using The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" as Cera's breakup ringtone.
The cast and characters were very likable. Cera and Jennings had good chemistry and I wanted them to hook up despite semi-implausible obstacles. Both had baggage, but they were done mostly with subtlety instead of cookie-cutter scenes. Alexis Dziena, playing Cera's taking-advantage ex, was almost too hot to believe she would go out with a dopey Cera. While Silly drunk chicks and gay sidekicks were nothing new, they were well-done and brought a lot of comic relief. Andy Samberg and John Cho made funny cameos.
My initial fear was this was about two character yapping quirky things at each other for 80 minutes until the band showed up, but the screenwriters put in a lot of funny moments and entertaining complications, such as locating their missing, drunk friend, as well as bumping into their baggage. There was also quite bit of funny Jewish-related jokes.
Watching this post-Scott Pilgrim vs the World, it was amusing the similarity between the two. Both characters were bass players in a band and dealing with baggage when they meet the female lead in a music-filled movie.
It brought nothing new to the genre, and Cera still looked too much like a dopey loser for a lead, but it succeeded on its charm, entertaining characters, and cool music.
What I would change
Completely taken out the journey of the chewing gum, that was repulsive.
