Music Lyrics
Music and Lyrics
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Music and Lyrics
Original poster
Directed by Marc Lawrence
Produced by Liz Glotzer
Martin Shafer
Written by Marc Lawrence
Starring Hugh Grant
Drew Barrymore
Music by Adam Schlesinger
Cinematography Xavier Pérez Grobet
Editing by Susan E. Morse
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 9, 2007 (UK)
February 14, 2007 (US)
Running time 104 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million
Gross revenue $145,896,422 (Worldwide) [1]
Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for the reigning pop diva.
Contents [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Critical reception
4 Box office
5 Soundtrack
6 DVD release
7 References
8 External links
Plot
Alex Fletcher was one of the founding members of the band PoP!, which achieved fame and enjoyed considerable success during the late 1980s and early 1990s. After they disbanded, his partner Colin Thompson became a popular solo act, while Alex's career nosedived. In recent years he has supported himself by reprising his old hits for middle-aged female fans at high school reunions, county fairs, and amusement parks.
Alex is given a chance at a comeback when teenaged pop star Cora Corman commissions him to write a song for her new CD which is on the verge of completion, leaving him only days to fulfill her request. Alex's forté is composing music; he always relied on Colin to supply the words. His manager Chris Riley helps him search for a lyricist, and Alex is in the midst of trying to collaborate with one when Sophie Fisher arrives at his apartment in place of his usual plant caregiver.
Sophie and Alex struggle to meet the deadline and complete their song in this scene from Music and LyricsSophie is a former creative writing student reeling from a disastrous romance with her former English professor that left her with little confidence in her talent. When she blurts out a few lyrics Alex finds more appealing than those provided by the pompous writer with whom he's making no progress, he cajoles her into working with him. There are signs of a budding romance as the two spend the next three days collaborating on "Way Back into Love."
Cora is thrilled with the completed song and Alex, Sophie, Chris, and his date have dinner to celebrate. At the restaurant Sophie runs into ex-lover Sloan Cates, the creative-writing professor who used her as the basis for the protagonist in his latest best-selling novel. Alex convinces Sophie to confront him, but the speech she prepared for this very moment long ago escapes her as her insecurity rises to the surface and leaves her tongue-tied in Sloan's presence. She and Alex return to his apartment and consummate their relationship, much to her sister Rhonda's delight when Sophie confides in her.
Sophie is horrified when she discovers Cora plans to record a sexually-charged interpretation of "Way Back into Love," complete with a "steamy and sticky" Indian vibe she feels clashes with the romantic spirit of the song. She is determined to convince Cora to abandon the bizarre arrangement, only to find Alex vetoing her efforts for fear he will lose the opportunity to work with Cora and revive his career. In the ensuing argument, he admits Cora's version is awful but contends accepting it is the cost of doing business. Upset by Alex's willingness to demean his talent and hurt by his argument that she is refusing to live in the real world, Sophie leaves him.
When Cora's new tour opens at Madison Square Garden, Alex introduces "Don't Write Me Off," a self-penned plea for Sophie to give their relationship another chance. She finds him backstage, and he confesses he convinced Cora to drop the risqué version of "Way Back into Love" in an attempt to win Sophie back. He and Cora perform the tune as he and Sophie intended it to be sung, and the two songwriters embrace in the wings.
Cast
Hugh Grant ..... Alex Fletcher
Drew Barrymore ..... Sophie Fisher
Brad Garrett ..... Chris Riley
Haley Bennett ..... Cora Corman
Campbell Scott ..... Sloan Cates
Kristen Johnston ..... Rhonda Fisher
Scott Porter ..... Colin Thompson
Critical reception
Music and Lyrics received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported 63% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 158 reviews, [2] while Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 59 out of 100, based on 30 reviews. [3]
A.O. Scott of the New York Times called the film "the type of modern Hollywood production that aspires to nothing more than the competent dispensing of mild amusement and easy emotion. The writer and director, Marc Lawrence . . . shows some imagination as he parodies the music-video styles of various eras, and he contrives a bit of novelty in making the movie’s central couple creative partners as well as potential lovers . . . Mr. Grant is at his best when he allows a hard glint of caddish narcissism to peek through his easy flirtatiousness, something he did in About a Boy and American Dreamz. There is not quite enough of that here, nor enough of the anarchic loopiness that Ms. Barrymore brought to roles opposite Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates." [4]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle observed, "Writer-director Marc Lawrence makes a talk-heavy variety of romantic comedy that not everyone likes - Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice, Forces of Nature - but he does it well. Moreover, Music and Lyrics has virtues its predecessors lack. Scenes play out longer than in most films, and conversations have a chance to evolve. Also, because much of the film places the protagonists in rooms together, working for extended periods, there are an unusual number of two-person scenes, giving the actors the chance to show their charm, work off each other and develop the nuances of interaction . . . Lawrence's take on pop music success is exactly right, satiric without being absurdist, and therefore a prize worth the effort." [5]
Todd McCarthy of the Variety said "Sitcommy in structure and execution, this very mainstream romance . . . offers few surprises. But its pep, agreeable performances and appealing central conceit will profitably put this Warner Bros. Valentine's Day romantic comedy over with women and couples seeking a nice diversion . . . Writer-director Marc Lawrence . . . makes everything about three times more obvious than it needs to be; as a director, he needs to edit himself better as a writer . . . But there's energy here, and the actors feed on it." [6]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film two out of five stars, calling it a "very moderate romcom" and adding, "Grant and Barrymore make a reasonable odd couple, and both have charm, but this never comes to life." [7]
Philip French of The Observer said, "Grant has the occasional good line (or at least he makes a few of them seem funny), but the film limps along like someone trying to tap dance in flippers." [8]
Box office
The film opened on February 9, 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and ranked #1 at the box office, grossing £1.93 million in its first weekend. It was released on 2,955 screens in the United States and Canada on February 14 and grossed $13,623,630 on its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the box office [1] behind Ghost Rider, Bridge to Terabithia, and Norbit. It eventually grossed $50,572,589 in the US and Canada and $95,323,833 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $145,896,422. [1]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album reached #5 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks Chart [9] and #63 on the Billboard 200. [10]
DVD release
Warner Home Video released the DVD in both anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen versions in the US, Canada, and US territories on May 8, 2007. Both feature audio tracks and subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. Bonus features include deleted scenes, a gag reel, Note for Note: The Making of Music and Lyrics, and the music video PoP! Goes My Heart.
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