In “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” Kat Dennings starred as that new big-screen archetype, the high school knock-out who doesn’t know it (see Emma Stone in “Easy A”). When Dennings teamed up with Michael Cera in that wispy teen romance, she overpowered him; at times I worried that she would snap him in two. (That’s Dennings as Norah, left.)
Her next picture, “Daydream Nation,” just picked up for U.S. distribution, stars Dennings as yet another of the contemporary screen’s tart, sassy 17 year olds. This time Dennings’ character faces more substantial challenges: a serial killer at large in a small town and an affair with her initially attractive, ultimately shadowy English teacher (Lucas Black). Do you think she’s up to them? (The film got mixed reviews at festivals.)
