Music and Lyrics

I suppose I'm just in the mood for a little romance lately; first Mansfield Park and now Music and Lyrics. I liked M&L quite a bit more, however, although it shares many of the same "shallow romance" flaws. The basic concept is the same: you know from the minute the characters appear on screen what their ultimate fates will be, but it manages to do this in a much lighter tone with very likeable characters. There's nothing that stands out in this movie -- I doubt I'll ever seek it out again -- but it's worth watching, particularly on a date or if you're just wanting to be cheered up.

Hugh Grant is Alex Fletcher, a washed-up 80s has-been singing sensation. This is no Dickey Roberts character; the movie carefully avoids having Alex ever break into histrionics about his faded star. Hugh Grant, of course, is quite practiced at self-deprecation but he brings a maturity to this role that is much appreciated (none of that incredibly annoying stammer that put me off him for years!). He's going gently into that good night...he makes a living mining his reputation by singing past hits to aging fans. The only reason he takes any chances in the movie is that the audience for this is shrinking, and his agent warns him his career may be in jeopardy. Some mention is made of his former partner, who apparently betrayed Alex; but the partner never shows up in the movie, not being a focus of Alex's life.

Drew Barrymore is, as usual, cute and spunky. Here too the character is mature; she has a former lover who's written calumnies about her in a best-selling fictional novel. The movie shows her moving on with her life -- pained, but avoiding the sort of cheap resolution that so oten plague romance movies (e.g., she doesn't expose him as a philanderer, he doesn't become a focus of her life, he isn't revealed as an ugly lunatic). Instead, he shows up briefly, and is mentioned briefly at the end.

The movie's central theme is thus revealed as moving on. Not staying in a rut, not seeking revenge, but simply taking the skills one has and moving on. This is aided, of course, by finding true love and using the romantic ideals of the US's hottest pop sensation, but ... :) Said pop sensation, by the way, was similarly subdued. She sought out Alex because his music had helped her deal with her parent's divorce, so she wanted to use his music to help people move on. For all that she was used to poke fun at the celebrity culture and modern pop music, she delivered the best single speech in the movie, when she revealed how panicked she was to stay on top, and why she would accordingly twist songs to let her dance.

This is afun movie -- not deep, but fun and romantic.