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Music and Lyrics (2007)
Monday, July 9, 2007
When it comes to romantic comedies I'm a big fan of Hugh Grant. Over the past couple decades he's been the king of the genre, but after the horrible film American Dreamz I had my doubts about how good Music & Lyrics could possibly be, maybe Grant was finally getting too old for these types of films... then again maybe not.
It seems to be a regular trend that Hugh Grant plays the same type of character in all his films. Always a bitter, lazy, washed up celebrity (or just bitter person in general) who by the end of the film finally finds the confidence he needs to turn his life around, Music & Lyrics is no different. Grant plays Alex Fletcher, a washed up teen pop sensation from the 80's group POP! While Alex's former partner went on to be a big time solo artist and movie star, he was left standing on the sidelines with nothing but the past. Now his fame is limited to a small group of middle aged women who come to see him perform his retro songs and 80's dance moves at theme parks and county fairs.
Things begin to look up for Alex when current teen pop sensation Cora, asks him to write her new single. He's not in love with the idea of having to come up with new material, and what's even worse is Cora wants it in a week! But his manager convinces him to take the job and now Alex has the lovely task of writing the music and lyrics to a new hit song, with only one problem, he can't write lyrics. Luck happens to be on his side when he meets Sophie Fisher, an aspiring writer. Sophie seems to have the gift for writing the perfect lyrics, and after convincing her to assist him it appears the two of them are on there way to a hit song. But as the story progresses Alex begins to become more depressed by his mediocre solo career and Sophie begins to dredge up memories of her past failures as a writer. Together the two of them work to re-write they're careers and at the same time build a relationship and a partnership.
One of the funniest parts of the film is the introduction, a music video by POP! Not only is the song extremely catchy but the video itself is incredibly hilarious and enjoyable, I probably watched it 25 times. As for the film itself, it may take a couple viewings to truly grow on you. The first time around I felt the script was a little weak and the casting of Drew Barrymore as the love interest was horrible, but after revisiting this film a little over a year after I originally wrote this review I found myself getting into the film and the characters a lot more.
In my first viewing the relationship between Grant and Barrymore seemed rather forced and unnatural but the second time around Barrymore's character grew on me and their relationship seemed a lot less scripted. But one thing remains the same in the film which I still quickly grew tired of and that was Cora, the wannabe Britney Spears. While her character is probably a fair representation of tarty female pop "artists" I still found her rather annoying. Overall, Music & Lyrics still a rather cookie cutter romantic comedy, but it takes a different route to arrive at the usual ending which was at least something different. Most people will get some enjoyment out of this rather lighthearted film, others might find it overly corny, but it's worth giving it a shot. It's not Hugh Grant best, but it's a solid addition to a dying genre.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film because Drew Barrymore does nothing for me as an actress. Yet, I found her chemistry with Grant stapled, and despite the overbearing amount of cheese (especially towards the end), I enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete@Univarn - yea this review was based on my first viewing back in 2007, I actually enjoyed it a little bit more the second time I watched it, which this review doesn't indicate. I quite enjoyed the ending, especially the concert when Grant does his apology song.
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