An enjoyable surprise

Rating: 8/10 (19 July 2007)

I was surprised how much I enjoyed "Music and Lyrics." My daughter had rented it the night before and quite liked it, so I offered to return it for her which gave me the chance to see it too. Hugh Grant gets better and better, and although this movie at first seems a stretch for him, he's perfectly believable as a piano-playing composer, singer, and dancer on stage. He plays a has-been from the 1980s who can't write music anymore unless somebody else writes the lyrics first. This character is ideal for Grant's self-deprecating style that we recognize from earlier movies. It works well for him because anyone this handsome needs to be somewhat self-deprecating for the average moviegoer to give a hoot and identify! Drew Barrymore is the female lead and a good match for Grant; they obviously have chemistry and she shares his very special ability to be funny, sexy and vulnerable, all at the same time. (In fact, I'm sure the director of "Music and Lyrics" was thinking "Cary Grant and Carole Lombard" when he cast them together.) Also outstanding is the young woman who plays Corrie (sp?, the pop star who commissions Grant to write her a new song. (This is where Barrymore comes in, when he discovers her talent for writing lyrics.) The actors who play his agent and her sister deserve special mention also; their presence in this movie is a bonus.
So "Music and Lyrics" has an acceptable story and a well-chosen cast; what it needed in addition was good music--and here, IMHO, it really scores! I would see this movie again and enjoy it just as much, so I might even buy the DVD. War and Peace it ain't, but it's a feel-good movie with humor, style, likable characters and a tuneful soundtrack. It's also a great antidote to the evening news :) .