While most of today's romantic comedy endeavors seem eager to prove the dwindling existence of great love stories, some of them still manage to bring a very accomplished feeling of warmth to the hearts of an audience. ""Music and Lyrics"" is one of those movies.
The premise is original. The writing feels contrived at times—however, it still manages to make its audience fall in love with the characters on the screen. Hugh Grant is and always will be Hugh Grant. He's irresistable. Anybody expecting anything more than a good romantic comedy should skip this romp down ‘finding-oneself' lane—but for those who are always up for a good love story and still struggle to get the bitter taste of ""Failure to Launch"" out of their mouths, ""Music and Lyrics"" is a refreshing escape.
Hugh Grant leaves nothing to be desired as Alex Fletcher, an '80s pop music has-been, slightly more pessimistic than usual, yet still the same bumbling idiot everybody loves to love in ""Notting Hill"" and ""Four Weddings and a Funeral.""
After turning down a particularly heinous reality TV show called ""Battle of the '80s Has-Beens,"" Alex is approached by Britney-esque pop star Cora Corman (Haley Bennet) and asked to write a duet they will perform together on her latest CD. Alex is thrilled for the comeback opportunity—however, Cora needs the song in less than five days, and he hasn't written a single lyric in 10 years.
After bumping heads with a prominent pop lyricist, Alex happens upon Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore), the tagline writer for a local weight loss facility and Alex's interim plant caretaker. Barrymore gives an unusual performance as Sophie. She's neurotic and unbalanced, but sweet and a surprisingly talented lyricist. After much prodding, Alex finally convinces Sophie to work on the Cora Corman duet with him. From then on, ""Music and Lyrics"" leaves warmth and anticipation flowing through the veins of its audience.
Almost all of the characters live dynamic, on-screen lives. They all change and mold into new situations, and they each have their own core of inner-good.
The love story is unusual and anything but immediate. While it does suffer from moments of the purest clichAc, these moments are rare, and the chemistry between Grant and Barrymore is enough to keep any lover of romance giddy where they sit. This film, like most romantic comedies, suffers from a stigma that will call it unworthy of any real appreciation. Why? Because who really cares? When movies like ""Blood Diamond"" and ""The Constant Gardener"" are out telling viewers what the real world is like, who cares about some depthless, contrived love story?
Well, the truth is, sometimes a little depthless, contrived love is all anybody needs to smile. And in cases like ""Music and Lyrics,"" the love isn't depthless or contrived at all. It's just suffering from a stigma infecting any critic —professional or not—who goes to see it with an incurable bias.
As previously stated, this is a movie for people who want to leave the theater feeling pleasant in their own skin. It isn't intended to wow anybody into a frenzy of tears and guilt, just to please the ears, eyes and soul. It's no ""When Harry Met Sally"" or ""Annie Hall""—that's obvious— but then again, nothing is.
