IT’S possible to forgive Michael Cera anything after his utterly exquisite performance in Juno and such tolerance may be required to get through his latest picture.

At least, that is true for anyone even slightly past their teenage years – for all those still within that demographic, this may just be the coolest movie of the year.

Cera plays the only straight member of a rock band who has just been dumped by hot girl Tris (Alex Dziena) whose best friend Norah (Kat Dennings) needs a date for the night – cue Nick.

They discover they have a mutual love of the same indie music and this leads to the forming of a hesitant but sweet bond that develops as they trawl the nightclubs of New York trying to track down a secret gig by one of their favourite bands.

Movies from After Hours to Before Sunset are referenced by director Peter Sollett who presents us with a New York almost entirely non-threatening and therefore something of a fantasy world.

But you get the feeling the young people who populate his film are likely to make a connection with a target audience who look the same and talk the same. Certainly it lacks the kind of puerile humour and essential dumbness that many movies trying to capture the same audience would resort to.

The problem is it all seems too trivial and insubstantial. These kids wander around aimlessly, talking about very little which may sound feasible but writer Lorene Scafaria can’t summon up the wit or insight required to pull it off – although the speech patterns and content are spot-on!

STAR RATING: **