Comments on The House Next Door: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

We are obviously from the same demographic, if not...

2008-11-13T05:54:00.000-05:00

We are obviously from the same demographic, if not necessarily the same generation, since I also felt myself aggressively targeted by this movie. (Originally I wanted to see it because I thought the movie might reference The Thin Man.) I still haven't seen it yet, though I'd probably like it, because I have a low-grade distaste of being huckstered and going along with it.

But calling playlist flirtation an "untenable premise" bemuses me and makes me think you're not exactly part of the target demographic for this movie. Which is: people who may not necessarily believe that sharing musical likes and dislikes with someone else means anything, but find the idea seductive.

You called the characters empty signifiers, but that's what playlists are: a collection of signifiers. A band lends its ethos, history, and specific subculture to the final mix, which is a kind of personality map. Whether it's empty or not, playlists have cultural symbolism beyond where someone's priorities lie.

Can you really formulate a clear picture of someone's personality and true nature simply through a list of "what they're into?" Not really, but reading other people for clues as to what they're thinking is what we do all the time, so this kind of behavior is just standard procedure.

movieman0283, you're mostly right. The reason I wa...

2008-10-25T14:31:40.845-04:00

movieman0283, you're mostly right. The reason I was thinking about the title was a good friend of mine who was at NYU with me who has extremely similar film taste on the highbrow/lowbrow split (70%), but is also from Nebraska and absolutely despises all manifestations of hipsterdom, which he stood resolutely outside of. He despised the movie and refused to see it on principle because of the title alone. This is, of course, a New York problem. But I grew up in Austin, so moving from there to here was basically going from one small version of a scene to a bigger one. I'm a little conflicted on this stuff, but these are basically some of the kids I went to high school with, and I may not have been clear on this, but I'm happy this was made. They deserve a safe place to play as much as anyone. Your other comments stand, obv.

The best way to deal with the mainstreaming of alr...

2008-10-24T17:46:00.000-04:00

The best way to deal with the mainstreaming of already tired hipster cliches is to ignore it, and them. Granted, this is far easier when you don't live in New York, but trust me, it's a relief. The stupid urban subculture of the past 8 years is only relevant as it relates to the ostrich-mentality of the country at large. Otherwise, it's pretty much meaningless and not really worth reacting to anymore. Bigger fish to fry, and all that. History will bury the scene, no need to lend a hand.

As for...
"Your ability to like, let alone enjoy this movie will depend on your ability not to feel the title searing your retina in pain." Generally, the only people whose will feel that way are among the crowd this movie is targetted at - either because they have one foot in the scene or recognize it but find it overrated, or because they've outgrown the phase, or because they find the movie a phony expropriation of their own experience. Or because of latent self-loathing. Or all of the above.

On the other hand, my parents, who are 56 and 60, and didn't really know what a "hipster" in its modern incarnation was, saw the movie and enjoyed it, finding it charming with some nice New York scenery.

In other words you're not going to hate this movie unless you think in terms like "feel the title searing your retina in pain" in the first place, which puts you squarely in this movie's demographic. Ironic, to be sure, but then irony always was the lifeblood of this sort of thing.

(And, yes, I'm more or less in the same boat as you in regard to all of this, though I haven't - and don't really plan - to see the movie.)

Nick and Norah struck me as something of a pitch b...

2008-10-23T22:59:18.391-04:00

Nick and Norah struck me as something of a pitch between Lost in Translation and Superbad for the mainstream crowd (seriously, can anyone call this indie cinema, even by Little Miss Sunshine standards?), and though it really only channels those film's respective creative energies in a superficial manner, I felt there were some strong instances of the film's fiber reflecting something real and true. It's not much of a good film, but I enjoyed it in its adolescent meanderings, and got a bit of a personal thrill recognizing a good chunk of the NY underbelly I'm growing to love myself. Take away the polished look, that ungainly title and diminish the clique stereotypes a bit, and you might really have something.

I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

2008-10-23T15:10:14.402-04:00

I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

......Including attributing the review to John ins...

2008-10-23T14:21:32.708-04:00

......Including attributing the review to John instead of Vadim. ARGH! Sorry!

...I need a nap.

I shouldn't reply like that at work - there were a...

2008-10-23T14:03:17.724-04:00

I shouldn't reply like that at work - there were a LOT of typos in that last entry.

John-You just proved my point, there.Nothing in yo...

2008-10-23T14:01:50.461-04:00

John-

You just proved my point, there.

Nothing in your review of this film hints at the emotional honest of Scott turning to Envy Adams and asking her, "Did we EVER talk like normal people?"

Scott is a shallow hipster, yes, particularly at the opening of the series. However, O'Malley never lauds him for it. Scott is portrayed as a deadbeat, a callous user, and a coward. The climax of the fourth volume has provided him with some small measure of growth (He admits that Ramona's "boyfriend challenge" and refusal to open up to him should be deal-breakers, but he's too infatuated to end it), but he's still not exactly a human being yet - the implication that the next volume to come will deal with his refusal to find closure for his relationship with Kim Pine hints that he'll get there eventually.

I know you'll get the reference if I compare it to the anime "FLCL" (though not, oddly, the manga). The "growing up" theme that ran through all of the broad comedy was largely paper-thin... because that wasn't the main purpose. The main purpose was dealing with loss. When Naota, who identifies Haruko with his older brother, finally breaks down like the child he is and sobs into her shirt about his brother's abandonment, that's a true and honest moment.

[I really was going to get to all this is an essay...]

There's very little ironic detachment in "Scott Pilgrim," which makes it unlike the Apatow films or this movie here. The question that a lot of its readers never seem to ask is, why does Scott love (or at least stay with) Ramona? She hasn't shown a huge interest in his terrible indy band, she doesn't play video games with him, and he (until the end of Vol. 4) doesn't even know her age. The book is beginning to explore that question more seriously as it goes along, but one of the first and most important reasons is that her existence is something outside of himself and his pathological self-involvement (ironic, as she first appears when passing through his mind, using it as a shortcut to more important things). His past, his neuroses, his failure to grow up, and his narrow but "precious little" life is opening up - Ramona's life has colleges on floating mountains and lunar explosions, that he'd been blind to because he was playing Sonic 3. The fact that those video game rules apply to his struggle to win her heart only shows that he might (might!) be right for her, after all.

But, you know, I'm a fan. And I'm aware that his wife, Hope Larson, is really the better cartoonist in the long run.

Thank you; this is one of the best reviews of ANYT...

2008-10-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

Thank you; this is one of the best reviews of ANYTHING I've read in months. It was deliciously salted with sardonic commentary on the industry, the movie's demographics, the filmmaker, and the characters--I was grinning like a fool at your scathing cynicism. Reading this review was like watching a guy with a flamethrower torch a set ablaze with glee. You enjoyed the movie though, I can tell. You don't need to be ashamed.

This movie is like a blanket, meant to stoke a sense of security in knowing that there are others out there with similar desire for vague idealism in our increasingly isolated society. Let people enjoy. After all, populistic movies are supposed to bring people together--this certainly will.

Michael--what Scott Pilgrim will be turned into?Th...

2008-10-23T11:58:07.777-04:00

Michael--

what Scott Pilgrim will be turned into?

This is Scott Pilgrim in a nutshell.

Excellent commentary, Vadim Rizov! Michael Cera, h...

2008-10-23T10:59:00.000-04:00

Excellent commentary, Vadim Rizov! Michael Cera, however, is not THE FUTURIST!'s cup of latte. He plays the same sweet schmo in every film. His monotone voice and dazed look as if he received a whack on the curly top with a cricket bat is so repetitive and tiring. And he looks like a teen Zeppo Marx. Not that that's a bad thing; it's just this opinion that feels his presence will fade away on screen just like the unfunny Marx Brother.

I'm fairly terrified that this is what "Scott Pilg...

2008-10-23T07:19:42.523-04:00

I'm fairly terrified that this is what "Scott Pilgrim" will be turned into... certainly, this is what the audience will be expecting of that film.