In the iconic '80s film "Say Anything," John Cusack held up a blaring boombox in the rain to woo his reluctant love.

What would he have done if all his music was on his iPod?

Music — 21st-century style — teams with romance, comedy and the never-ending nightlife of New York City in "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," a well-intentioned, slightly off-kilter but ultimately unsatisfying new teen flick.

This will not be the fond generational memory movie — the John Hughes flick — of the '00s. Think of it more as a pale imitation of "Juno," with alternative rock replacing an unwanted pregnancy. And without the wit and energy.

Michael Cera stars as Nick, the same awkward, geeky character he played in "Arrested Development," "Superbad" and "Juno." Though it brings up the question of whether he can do anything else, this is his niche; he's very good at it, and his dry humor is the best thing in the movie.

Nick is mourning the end of his unexplainable relationship with the school's hot mean girl, Tris (Alexis Dziena of TV's "Invasion"), and desperately trying to get her back with an endless string of mix tapes.

Kat Dennings (Catherine Keener's daughter in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") is Norah, Tris's cynical and sarcastic schoolmate, who gobbles up the discarded mix tapes and finds that this guy she's never met is her musical soul mate.

The couple meets cute during a night on the town, Norah with her perpetually drunk friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) and Nick with his gay rock band (he's the only heterosexual member). The movie covers just the one evening, as everybody searches for both a mysterious underground rock band and Caroline, who gets lost in her quest to find new places to throw up.

The main characters are down-to-earth, easy to root for and clearly meant to be together. In the first half of the movie, however, when Nick and Norah are supposed to be forging a connection, there's nary a spark between them. Dennings fares much worse than Cera. Her character tries to channel the excellent Ellen Page, snapping off pithy lines that seem to have been discarded by "Juno" as insufficiently funny.

"Nick and Norah" doesn't have a plot, per se, so it's completely dependent on the characters (and a pretty good soundtrack). Some of the stuff going around on the fringes is fun, but the movie itself just isn't that humorous.

It's not your typical stupid and cheesy teen movie. That still doesn't make it good.

Rental Recommendation: John Cusack's "High Fidelity" also paired romance and music. Grade: B.

E-mail Steve Ouellette at: ouellette1918@gmail.com