2008 Woodie Awards
This week's movie review
Music and Lyrics
By: Hannagan, Kristen
Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Hugh Grant sings.
Hugh Grant dances.
Is it a mash up of "About a Boy" and "Love Actually?" Nope.
While Grant sings Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" in a school talent show in 2002's "About a Boy" and shimmies about to "Jump (For My Love)" in 2003's "Love Actually," in "Music and Lyrics" he puts both talents to good use portraying a former teen idol.
"Music and Lyrics," released on Valentine's Day (you can either groan or sigh), is the perfect film to not only chase away the winter blues but make you believe in love again (even if it is only for the hour and thirty six minutes the film runs).
We begin the film with Alex Fletcher (Grant) and his Pop! band mates hamming it up '80s Wham! style to the outlandish "Pop! Goes My Heart" which includes a near fatal Fletcher in an operating room-but when he finds love, his heart, well, "pops!" as the title suggests.
Fast-forward 20 or so years and we find Fletcher offered an appearance on "Battle of the 80s Has-Beens" which turns out to be a boxing match for former stars. He declines.
Life seems down for Fletcher (who has been resigned to playing state fairs, high school reunions and amusement park gigs) but fate steps in the form of a plant-watering lady. Fletcher's new watering lady, Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore), is absent minded but has a natural talent for lyric writing. This comes in handy because Fletcher is writing a song for a Britney/Shakira with an Indian influence type Cora Corman (newcomer Haley Bennett) - "Entering Bootytown" in less than a week and is more of a music writer than a lyric writer.
Fletcher and Fisher work together to write "Way Back into Love" for Fletcher and Corman's concert performance and find themselves falling for each other during their writing boot camp. They also find each have their own set of baggage; Fletcher is coming to grips that his heydays are over and Fisher is suffering after being unflatteringly portrayed in her former writing teacher Sloan Cates' (Campbell Scott) book.
But their new-found happiness is broken like a guitar string when Fletcher and Fisher clash over Corman's rendition of their song.
While "Music and Lyrics" is highly predictable, director and writer Marc Lawrence (who worked with Grant in 2002's "Two Weeks Notice") presents the film in a way you can forget the cuteness of it all and settle in for an enjoyable time at the show.
The biggest surprise is how well Grant, Barrymore and Bennett all sing. Grant is quite believable while playing the piano and working his magic with his home recording studio.
"Music and Lyrics" is rated PG-13 for some sexual content - but it is relatively tame with nothing not shown on prime time television.
Hugh Grant dances.
Is it a mash up of "About a Boy" and "Love Actually?" Nope.
While Grant sings Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" in a school talent show in 2002's "About a Boy" and shimmies about to "Jump (For My Love)" in 2003's "Love Actually," in "Music and Lyrics" he puts both talents to good use portraying a former teen idol.
"Music and Lyrics," released on Valentine's Day (you can either groan or sigh), is the perfect film to not only chase away the winter blues but make you believe in love again (even if it is only for the hour and thirty six minutes the film runs).
We begin the film with Alex Fletcher (Grant) and his Pop! band mates hamming it up '80s Wham! style to the outlandish "Pop! Goes My Heart" which includes a near fatal Fletcher in an operating room-but when he finds love, his heart, well, "pops!" as the title suggests.
Fast-forward 20 or so years and we find Fletcher offered an appearance on "Battle of the 80s Has-Beens" which turns out to be a boxing match for former stars. He declines.
Life seems down for Fletcher (who has been resigned to playing state fairs, high school reunions and amusement park gigs) but fate steps in the form of a plant-watering lady. Fletcher's new watering lady, Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore), is absent minded but has a natural talent for lyric writing. This comes in handy because Fletcher is writing a song for a Britney/Shakira with an Indian influence type Cora Corman (newcomer Haley Bennett) - "Entering Bootytown" in less than a week and is more of a music writer than a lyric writer.
Fletcher and Fisher work together to write "Way Back into Love" for Fletcher and Corman's concert performance and find themselves falling for each other during their writing boot camp. They also find each have their own set of baggage; Fletcher is coming to grips that his heydays are over and Fisher is suffering after being unflatteringly portrayed in her former writing teacher Sloan Cates' (Campbell Scott) book.
But their new-found happiness is broken like a guitar string when Fletcher and Fisher clash over Corman's rendition of their song.
While "Music and Lyrics" is highly predictable, director and writer Marc Lawrence (who worked with Grant in 2002's "Two Weeks Notice") presents the film in a way you can forget the cuteness of it all and settle in for an enjoyable time at the show.
The biggest surprise is how well Grant, Barrymore and Bennett all sing. Grant is quite believable while playing the piano and working his magic with his home recording studio.
"Music and Lyrics" is rated PG-13 for some sexual content - but it is relatively tame with nothing not shown on prime time television.
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