Review: Music and Lyrics

A “has-been” pop star from the ’80s gets the chance to write a new song for a young pop star diva. During his writing process, he meets his new plant lady who just happens to be a gifted lyricist. Eighties nostalgia, light romance and a few laughs ensue.

I grew up in the eighties, so as tacky and cheesy as that era was, I’ll always have a soft spot for it. With that said, this movie was just “alright”. I was always smiling and there were a few good laughs here and there, but despite it being a no-brainer and pretty predictable, I think most peeps will let that slide and enjoy it for the light romantic comedy that it’s aiming to be.

Hugh Grant, who plays Alex Fletcher, was the best part of the film. His wit and charming character of a throwback pop star from the eighties was excellent. Grant’s typical dry humor meshed perfectly with his character. He does it so naturally that it feels like he’s never really trying to be funny, it just comes off that way. Drew Barrymore, who plays Sophie Fisher, was cute but her performance wasn’t the greatest. I just didn’t buy into her neurotic behavior, it felt kinda forced. The chemistry between her and Grant, however, worked for the most part.

The real let down was Halley Bennette, who played Cora Corman. As young and sexy as she may look, the poor girl just can’t act and as result, it actually hurt the movie. She’s supposed to be this new age pop diva, but she came across as if she was in a bad x-rated movie…it was that bad. Brad Garret and Kristen Johnston were funny and a little underused, but they did integrate themselves nicely as secondary characters.

I also loved that the band that Hugh Grant’s character was supposed to be parodying was WHAM. The opening credits were hilarious as well…at least they should be for those who remember eighties videos. They were so horribly good and the opening was an excellent reminder of that. Very funny stuff.

We’ve seen this kind of movie before with the same formula as usual, but I guess that’s how these types of flicks are made these days. At least this time around we didn’t have someone running to the airport just before the other character gets on the plane and declares their undying love.

The studio is probably banking on the Valentine’s day extravaganza coming up to push this film (release date February 14th, natch) and it’ll probably work out for them since it’s not that bad of a movie. Most will enjoy it as a light “fluffy” chick flick, and as for me, I don’t know why, but I have the sudden urge to blow-dry my hair, bleach it and then put on a white dress shirt accompanied by a thin black leather tie. God, I love the eighties!!

— by Tim
Goernert