High concept rom-com drowns in adorableness...

Rating: 4/10 (20 January 2016)

Hugh Grant acquits himself admirably in this half-hearted music biz satire-cum-romantic comedy, which has too many targets, too few jokes and totally unreal characters. A 1980s pop music has-been, a singer/keyboardist once part of a bubblegum outfit called PoP, has recently been commissioned to write a song for the reigning teen-queen on the charts; he likes the randomly delivered lyrics thought up by his substitute 'plant waterer' and they form a songwriting partnership. Drew Barrymore's gregarious personality would appear to be the perfect counterpoint to Grant's dry witticisms, but the dim brand of 'cute' writing here leaves Barrymore stranded. She attempts to fall back on her patented charm and pluck, yet this is the kind of silly screenplay wherein her Sophie Fisher can quickly rattle off rhyming sentences yet suffers a complete block when faced with her nemesis (a best-selling author who...oh, never mind). The strongest aspect of the movie turns out to be the songs, which have an authentically retro feel and almost manage to convince us that Grant could have been another Andrew Ridgeley. *1/2 from ****