musicandlyrics

Seems romantic comedies nowadays have run out of new and interesting paths to narrative climax,
so to compensate the writers come up with new careers to plug into the boy-meets-girl scenario.
Oh, and they should also make sure that the two main players are funny.

“Music and Lyrics” contains nothing original so far as the story goes. I can’t blame the movie
because there’s not a lot left to say in the romantic comedy genre, just like there’s not a lot left to
say in the natural disaster movie genre either. Thankfully, this film gets the funny in there because
otherwise there’d be nothing fun to watch.

Hugh Grant is a former 1980s pop band heartthrob, aptly named “Pop.” He’s now an obscure
personality that one would likely see pop up on Hollywood Squares. Like all artists, he’s trying to
stay creative by agreeing to write a song for the latest eye candy singer, a fictional vocalist akin to
Britney Spears or Shakira. Grant is old time by modern music industry standards, but fortunately
he has a new girl tending to his apartment plants who seems to have a natural aptitude for lyric
writing.

Enter Drew Barrymore, a plant tender and prodigal songwriter. She’s reluctant to help, he begs,
they begin writing together, they start to fall in love of course, etc., etc.

Grant is, as usual dry and hilarious. He’s not even trying with this one. He could probably deliver
the lines in his sleep and that’s fine because it works. Barrymore does her typical lispy-mouthed
deliveries and act as adorable as possible. She’s quickly becoming the new Meg Ryan of romantic
comedies.

The whole cliche saga follows the oh-so tired pattern as they fall in love, break up and then make
up in a rousing and cheesy finish. So why not a lower grade? Because one of the brilliant gimmicks
of the movie is a glimpse at Grant’s former life in his band complete with an introduction music
video by the fictional band Pop that brilliantly recreates the overdramatic and chintzy style of early
1980s music videos. It’s so bad it replicates the 1980s MTV era perfectly. A stroke of genius.

Music and Lyrics is often a groan but at other times pure, mindless fun.