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A showbiz has-been Alex Fletcher ( Hugh Grant ) wants to return to the stage to satisfy the
demands of his middle aged female fans. Among these fans, however, is a sexy female teenage recording and concert star, Cora ( Haley Bennett ) who claims his songs had
guided her spiritually as a child in a dysfunctional family. Cora--a Britney Spears clone--wants badly to do a duet with Alex for her new album, a to perform in tandem with
him in a concert, but alas, his well has run dry and he can't produce anymore songs. Enter Sophie Fisher ( Drew Barrymore ), substituting for the plant sitter at his
apartment. She hardly knows anything about tending plants but she happens to be a songwriter, a delicious and convenient fact he chances upon while he is at his driest
trying to compose a song with his agent Chris Riley ( Brad Garrett ) to beat the deadline set by Cora . After some mild persuasion Sarah agrees to co-write the lyrics to
Alan 's melody, and they seem destined to make beautiful music together.
Music and Lyrics is not exactly a musical, but because of the theme and the storyline and the presence of some musical numbers, it could be mislabeled, leading the public to expect the wrong things out of it. It is well made, though, and while its technical aspects are nothing extraordinary, it possesses a certain appeal that emanates from the characterization, the realness of the people whose simple story is told. Grant is pathetically hilarious as he thrills his middle-aged women fans with his pelvic thrusts--not quite as vigorous as Elvis' but… that's reality in showbiz. A rather underweight but sweet Barrymore plays Grant's partner with just the right amount of chemistry to make the team come across as credible and project the level of attraction the story calls for.
The plot is light enough to be entertaining, and for a movie of its genre (romantic comedy),
should prove delightful for all audiences especially girls and women. It is notable that while there is much hype about the "sexy" musical star Cora , her numbers are not
seductive or as "hot" as may be expected--this seems deliberate on the part of the director, especially when viewers consider that the character has spiritual leanings and in the
end is mentioned as having Fletcher sing at her wedding. In short, it is noteworthy that the movie does not take advantage of the milieu (showbiz) to promote the usual and
less-than-wholesome things found in the entertainment world, like extra-marital affairs, suggestive dancing, foul language or double talk, and general sexual permissiveness.
(Date Reviewed: 2 March 2007)
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