Wake Me Up Before Hugh Go-Go

Rating: 5/10 (4 May 2015)

Slightly better than usual Hugh Grant rom-com vehicle which sees him play an ageing, 80's has-been Andrew Ridgley-type popster who gets an unlikely break from the constant round of playing the oldies circuit when he's asked to write a song for the new, hot young Britney / Christina kid-on-the-block. However, rather like, say, Elton John, he doesn't do lyrics and needs to find one fast to complete the new song on deadline and give his erstwhile career a much needed boost. By chance, it turns out his young, female plant- lady (i.e. she waters his plants) has a way with words and because she's also Drew Barrymore they form an offbeat partnership, get involved and along the way solve Barrymore's own issues which revolve around an old teacher of hers who's used her experiences as the thinly disguised subject of a hit, soon-to-be-filmed best seller of his.
The film starts off very funnily with a spot-on mickey-take of the relentlessly upbeat 80's videos from those boys from Wham, before the main story takes over and I suppose falters from there. Grant is a bit less gauche and narcissistic than usual (strangely so, given his character's C.V. here) and Barrymore is more clever than cute when her character might have played better if those traits were reversed.
There's not a great deal of romantic spark between them although cosmetically they spark a little better off each other. Sadly, the supporting characters are thin while story goes through the predictable series of will they, won't they get together ups and downs before the expected happy-ending sees the succeed together on a personal and commercial level.
The best lines are still those which spoof the 80's music scene, in my opinion, the decade that fashion and talent forgot, the rest of it is, unsurprisingly, soft and warm and fuzzy, rather like a typical George Michael single of the time. The big conclusion, at a massive concert thrown by new hipster Cora, sees Grant, heretofore an inept lyricist, but who throughout must of the film, keeps up a mostly witty and confident dialogue and writes a fluent open-letter lyric to Barrymore just as she's quitting the big showcase concert of Cora's where he appears to be taking sole credit for their new song for Cora.
Like 80's music in general, this reasonably pleasant and amusing film doesn't exactly challenge the senses but passes the time amiably enough.