Review: Music and Lyrics ****

"Music and Lyrics" is the best romantic comedy I have seen this decade, bar none, and it is not a close call. The satire on the American music industry is sharp and extremely funny - lampooning both '80s music videos and today's Britney Spears-type starlets. This movie is filled to brimming with material that is funny because it is true. The opening scene alone is worth the cost of admission, showing a music video of the band, "Pop!" in their biggest hit from the '80s. Their hairstyles, gestures, costumes and staging all motivate the viewer to scream, "I can't believe that was cool twenty years ago!!" We learn that Colin, one of the lead singers of "Pop!" became a star after the band broke up and the other faded into obscurity to become the answer to a trivia question. The has-been, Alex Fletcher, (Hugh Grant) is in the process in the present day of trying to make a living by singing at retro-type venues that still want to see him perform. He is in trouble, however, because there are so many "new old bands" that are competing with him. (That bit about "new old bands" was my favorite line in a script full of witty and memorable observations.) Alex receives an offer from Cora, the current Britney Spears-type star who has a decent singing voice, but gyrates incessantly in skimpy costumes and calls it dancing. She has a title for her next song that she needs him to write, which project she has also given to a number of other composers and lyricists. The one who writes the best duet will record and perform it with Cora, likely launching a big hit. He also has only three days or so to write it.
Drew Barrymore is the girl who waters Alex's plants, but she gives a number of rhyming lines off-the-cuff, so he excuses his current rather eccentric partner and takes her on as his lyricist. Naturally, a romance blossoms between them and they discover certain things about one another as romance blooms. The performances are good on all counts, and Hugh Grant gives his best performance in a long time. Twelve years ago, critics and fans observed in view of his performance in "Sense and Sensibility" that "humility becomes him." Indeed it does, as he plays a very believable has-been whose pretentious stage antics leave him with the occasional pulled muscle. Drew Barrymore is anything but a good actress, but this is one time in which the part conforms to her strengths so that she does not do any damage. A number of memorable supporting performances make this a memorable movie.
In terms of content, Cora's satire on Britney et. al. is realistic and her costumes highly immodest, so you might be careful of boys watching this movie. Also, the two stars naturally become lovers before he has put a ring on her finger. In sum, "Music and Lyrics" is an excellent piece of satire, you will enjoy it, and I will purchase it as soon as it is available.