A fun, well-paced, and genuinely funny movie

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2012)

I really enjoyed this film. The writer clearly understands what its like to be a musician and the people who scored the 80s music did a great job of getting the sound just right.
The casting was spot on and both Grant and Barrymore were the right people for the characters. I was also impressed by how Haley Bennett managed to switch from a hyper-sexualized character to one that is almost a-sexual and unreadable. I imagine that's also partly the result of the director's efforts on this film.
If there's anything I know well, it's the 80s. It's never easy to get the feel of a past decade's music and style quite right. However, this film manages to nail it right on the head. Watching the behind the scenes material on the DVD, I can see that they referenced the right material in order to get the look and feel correct. Going overboard worked in their favour, since the New Wave era was pretty extreme -- to say the least.
Finally, I have to say that I found myself laughing my head off. This really is a funny movie.
Worth seeing, even if you're not really into romantic comedies.