Review in a Hurry: Instead of a wedding singer, Drew Barrymore falls for a washed-up singer—Hugh Grant, who reveals a passable pop voice, thrusts a mean hip and charms up this formulaic date flick.
The Bigger Picture: Sure, it's cheesy and completely disposable. Sure, stuffy cineastes and cranky critics will shoot more arrows at it than Cupid working overtime on Valentine's Day. But for all the predictability and plot contrivances, this tuneful rom-com—like the silly love songs it both spoofs and embraces—proves surprisingly entertaining.
The "music" in this collaboration is composer Grant, an '80s pop idol has-been (think Andrew Ridgeley; the pic makes several winks at Wham!). Reduced to performing at amusement parks and high school reunions, Grant gets a crack at a comeback when he's invited to write a song for Shakira-Aguilera-esque diva Haley Bennett. But he only has a few days to pen a chart topper and desperately needs the right words.
Cue the "lyrics." Barrymore, the quirky cutie who cares for Grant's plants, just happens to have an untapped talent for rhyme. After initially resisting Grant's pleas for help, she agrees to just duet, and soon they're creating beautiful music together...
But their harmonious pairing hits a sour note due to Grant's commitment phobia and—in some clunky, manufactured conflict—Barrymore's baggage about ex-b-f Campbell Scott.
The pic scores a hit with its top 40, er, top-notch cast. Grant spits out witty one-liners, gracefully pokes fun at his own aging-star status and creates a sweet chemistry with sunny, ditzy Drew. Kristen Johnston also provides strong backup as Barrymore's big-boned, big-hearted sister with a Grant fixation.
Music and Lyrics sticks to a familiar beat, but you can still dance to it, and sometimes guilty-pleasure fluff can be satisfying enough.
The 180—a Second Opinion: If you wanna, like, totally hate this movie, try getting the absurdly infectious, '80s-inspired ditty “Pop Goes My Heart” out of your head. Omigod, you'll play Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Kajagoogoo, anything to purge it from your brain!