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| Music and Lyrics | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster from the film. | |
| Directed by | Marc Lawrence |
| Written by | Marc Lawrence |
| Produced by | Marc Lawrence Melissa Wells Scott Elias |
| Starring | Hugh Grant Drew Barrymore Brad Garrett Kristen Johnston Haley Bennett |
| Cinematography | Xavier Pérez Grobet |
| Edited by | Susan E. Morse |
| Music by | Adam Schlesinger |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | February 9 2007 (UK) February 14 2007 (Australia, Canada, U.S.) |
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $50,572,600 (USD) |
Music and Lyrics is a romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. on February 9, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The film stars Hugh Grant as Alex Fletcher, a washed-up 1980s pop star and Drew Barrymore as Sophie Fisher, a former English literature university major. It tells the story of their efforts to write a song for singer Cora Corman (Haley Bennett), and their subsequent romance.
The film received mixed reviews from contemporary critics, but topped the UK box office.[1] At the North American box office, it debuted at number four and generated $19 million in its first week.[2]
Plot synopsis
Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a former pop star. As one of the founding members of the band Pop!, he enjoyed considerable fame and success during the 1980s and early 1990s. Fifteen years after PoP! disbanded, Alex has acknowledged that he is a has-been. A chance to recapture his former stardom comes in the form of a duet with mainstream pop singer Cora Corman (Haley Bennett), whom he must compose a song titled "Way Back into Love" for in a matter of days. However, to Alex's dismay, he has not written a song in years, and tells his manager (Brad Garrett) that he will need help from a lyricist.
Alex meets Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) when she comes to his house to water his plants. Sophie is a former English literature major reeling from a disastrous romance. She is also a writer with little confidence in her abilities. Alex requests Sophie's assistance on the song, and although she initially declines, after a series of conversations with him, she agrees to collaborate. There are signs of a budding romance as the two write the song, which they finish in three days. Cora likes the song, but includes an edgy Indian-themed introduction that clashes with the song. Conflict arises when Sophie insists on telling Cora about her concerns with the changes, but Alex prevents this for fear of offending Cora. Their relationship ends because they are unable to compromise.
Cora invites Alex and Sora to the first concert on her new tour, at which she is due to premiere "Way Back into Love". However, to Sophie's surprise, Cora announces "a new song by Alex Fletcher", and she begins to leave, under the impression that Alex stripped her of her songwriting credit. Alex instead performs an entirely new song ("Don't Write Me Off") written by himself about his and Sophie's relationship, despite his admitted inability to write lyrics. Alex tells Sophie backstage that he convinced Cora to remove the Indian-themed introduction of "Way Back into Love" as an attempt to "win her back". The original version of the song is performed by the two, after which Alex and Sophie kiss backstage.
During the credits, a VH1-styled Pop-up Video informs viewers of the events after the movie.
Production
The movie was originally titled, Music and Lyrics By... but was changed to Music and Lyrics. Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant actually sing in the film. Martin Fry, lead singer of ABC, worked as Grant's vocal coach during production. Many of the songs they performed, including "Way Back Into Love," were composed by Adam Schlesinger, who composed the title track for That Thing You Do! "Dance With Me Tonight" was composed by Clyde Lawrence, the 13-year-old son of the film's director/producer/writer, Marc Lawrence.
Commercial release
Critical reception
Music and Lyrics received mixed reviews from contemporary film critics.[3][4] About.com called it "just the right sort of escapist entertainment we've come to expect from films of this genre" and said the chemistry between Grant and Barrymore "works well".[5] The Washington Post agreed with this standpoint, referring to the film as having "both zing and zang" and a "great" on-screen couple.[6] Most reviewers responded similarly to Grant and Barrymore,[7][8] but those more critical of the film were unconvinced by the romantic development, noted as "arbitrary" by Christianity Today,[9] and "unbelievable" by The Austin Chronicle.[10] In its review for the film, The Guardian wrote "Grant and Barrymore make a reasonable odd couple, and both have charm", but felt their pairing "never comes to life".[11]
Notes
- ^ "Music and Lyrics tops box office". BBC. February 13 2007. Retrieved April 3 2007.
- ^ BoxOfficeMojo.com. "Music and Lyrics". Weekly box office statistics. Retrieved April 3 2007.
- ^ Metacritic. "Music and Lyrics: Warner Bros. Pictures". Retrieved July 16 2007.
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes. "Music and Lyrics (2007)". Retrieved July 16 2007.
- ^ Murray, Rebecca. About.com. "Music and Lyrics movie review". Date unlisted. Retrieved July 16 2007.
- ^ Hunter, Stephen. The Washington Post. "Music and Lyrics: Work Is What Makes Life Hum". Date unlisted. Retrieved July 16 2007.
- ^ Phillips, Michael. Metromix. "Movie review for Music and Lyrics". February 8 2007. Retrieved August 20 2007.
- ^ Canavese, Peter. Groucho Reviews. Music and Lyrics. Date unlisted. Retrieved August 20 2007.
- ^ Arends, Carolyn. Christianity Today. "Music and Lyrics". February 14 2007. Retrieved July 16 2007.
- ^ Burton, Toddy. The Austin Chronicle. "Film review for Music and Lyrics". February 16 2007. Retrieved August 20 2007.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter. The Guardian. "Music and Lyrics". February 9 2007. Retrieved August 20 2007.