Music and Lyrics
- In theaters February 14th 2007
- Rated PG-13 for some sexual content
- Runtime: 90 min
- 3.5 out of 5
COMPLETE REVIEW BELOW
Review by Anne Jackson
I was fortunate enough to be a child of the late-
eighties, preferring Sesame Street to most of the
hideously dressed bands of the decade. But to my
benefit, VH1 has done at least a million tributes to
80ís bands, so although I wasnít able to experience
the phenomenon in person, I can at least reflect upon
what this era must have been like.
In Music & Lyrics, Hugh Grant is Alex Fletcher, an 80ís
pop singer has-been. His group, in fact, was
called ìPopî ‚ and we are introduced to the very black,
white, and pink color trend that accompanied most
bands from that age. Fletcher is surprisingly very
realistic in his self-perception, knowing he canít ride
on his fame from 25 years ago. He graciously
accepts gigs at twenty-year reunions and state fairs.
His luck changes when Cora Corman (Haley Bennett),
the hottest current pop singer on the planet and
admiring fan from the past, asks Fletcher to write her
newest hit. He unsuccessfully teams up with a few
lyricists along the way, and during a writing session,
coincidently hears his ìplant girlî Sophie Fisher (Drew
Barrymore) coming up with her own lyrics as she
moves about his house watering his.
Suddenly Alex latches on to Sophie, his new muse,
and they work tirelessly around the clock to get Cora
her new song, and also Alexís career back on track.
We see a romantic connection emerge slowly along
the way, and Sophie ensuring the pace remains slow.
Recently heart-broken over a former professor, she is
insecure and untrusting.
Through sleepless nights and crazy days, they
complete the song in the eleventh hour, and Cora is
thrilled with their masterpiece. She invites them into
her pop-star lifestyle, which is an eclectic mix of all
forms of culture and sex appeal. It may not be a
perfect place for Alex and Sophie, but the worlds of all
three artists collide into an unforgettable work of art.
I was surprisingly impressed with the believability of
Hugh Grant as a washed up pop-star. His character
was humble and sensitive. Drew Barrymore conveyed
her low self-esteem and fear perfectly through the
screen. Music & Lyrics wasnít a typical ìromantic
comedyî but more of a ìcomical romanceî as the
comedy definitely took precedence. It was sweet and
lighthearted throughout, but not to sappy, so itís
definitely wonít push too much estrogen on the male
audience.
Music & Lyrics earns a strong 3.5 out of 5 plastic
plants, and would be a great Valentineís Day date.
Guys, I promise you wonít hate it.
============================
Anne is a writer, artist & coffee addict who lives with
her husband and two emotionally unstable cats in the
Dallas
area. She works at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall
and in
her
free time enjoys badly impersonating foreign accents,
photography, and eating anything chocolate. You
can reach
Anne on her blog at
Flowerdust.net.
