Music and Lyrics
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Directed by: Marc Lawrence
Starring:
Hugh Grant - Alex Fletcher
Drew Barrymore - Sophie Fisher
Brad Garrett - Chris Riley
Kristen Johnston - Rhonda Fisher
The romantic-comedy is sometimes such a predictable, tired genre that the best it can do is provide a mirror for your own feelings and bounce them back to you. If you’re feeling cynical, bitter, and dragged by your lower-parts to see the film, then you’ll leave surlier than before. But if you go in hoping for a good time and an easy laugh, then you’ll leave with a smile on your face. There’s not one single element of Music and Lyrics you haven’t seen before so much like the tree Luke Skywalker entered in The Empire Strikes Back, all that’s there is only what you take with you.
Hugh Grant plays Befuddled-Witty-Charming-Man from most of his filmography. He’s a former 80s pop star that’s trying to get back on top by writing a song for a Britney Spears-like pop queen but he’s terrible at lyrics. Thankfully, Drew Barrymore plays Cute-Friendly-Inoffensive-Woman from her recent filmography. She waters Grant’s plants and once she starts providing lyrics, the two begin to make sweet music together, both literally and figuratively.
We’ve all seen this film before and I don’t want to reward the film for being competent since the romantic-comedy genre is so easy that it would be like giving out a gold star to an average person because they managed to put on pants. But I went into the film with a good mood and the leads charmed me, I liked the songs (although my musical taste is essentially garbage so take that praise with a grain of salt), and I thought the film was witty enough. But judge your own emotions before walking into this picture because you’ll be sitting with that emotion for about 100 minutes.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
2.17.07