Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol (of the fictional band PoP!) and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva. The film was released on February 14, 2007, by Warner Bros. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised Grant's performance and the musical numbers but found the film simplistic, and grossed $145.9 million worldwide.

Plot

Alex Fletcher, once a member of 80s supergroup PoP!, is now a washed-up pop star relegated to occasional performances at reunions and state fairs. Alex is asked by young megastar Cora Corman to write her a song titled "Way Back Into Love". He is reluctant, as his strength was composing music while former bandmate (the backstabbing Colin) wrote lyrics, but accepts at his manager Chris’s urging in hopes of revitalizing his fading career. During an unsuccessful composing session with a pretentious lyricist, Alex discovers that Sophie, the young woman hired to water his plants, has a talent for writing lyrics. Desperate to meet his 48-hour deadline, Alex begs for her help; Sophie refuses at first but reconsiders when he composes a short tune setting her lyrics to his music. Over the next few days, Alex and Sophie collaborate on the song and grow closer. Alex reveals that Colin stole several of their songs for his successful solo album, while Sophie confides that she abandoned writing after a failed romance with her English professor, Sloan Cates, and that she was the basis for the vapid main character in his best-selling novel. Alex and Sophie deliver the finished song to Cora, narrowly beating the deadline, and are thrilled when she accepts it. Later, at a celebratory dinner, Sophie is mortified to encounter Sloan. She confronts him but finds herself tongue-tied in his presence, and Alex's attempts to defend her result in a physical altercation. They retreat to Alex’s apartment to nurse their wounds, where they give into their growing attraction and spend the night together. Cora invites Alex and Sophie to the studio for a sneak preview of their song, but they are appalled by her risqué, Bollywood-style interpretation. In private, Sophie complains that Cora’s version clashes with the original song’s quiet, vulnerable tone; Alex agrees but dismisses it as the cost of doing business. Later, over Alex’s objections, Sophie shares her concerns with Cora, who appreciates her honesty but refuses to make changes. Tasked by Cora with writing an additional verse by the next morning, tensions rise between Alex and Sophie, leading to a heated argument. She accuses him of selling out, and he offends her by declaring that Sloan’s assessment of her character was accurate. The next morning, Alex meets with Cora and is dismayed to learn that Sophie has faxed over an additional verse based on their argument, effectively ending their partnership. Sophie, preparing to start a new life in Florida, reluctantly attends Cora's opening performance at Madison Square Garden. Midway through the show, Cora announces the debut of a new song "written by Alex Fletcher". Believing Alex has stolen credit for their work, a heartbroken Sophie tries to leave. Instead, to her surprise, Alex performs a heartfelt ballad written entirely on his own, a plea for Sophie to give him another chance. Moved, she finds him backstage, where he confesses that he persuaded Cora to drop the risqué arrangement of their song by suggesting it would help him win Sophie back. The two reconcile and share a kiss, and Alex and Cora perform “Way Back Into Love” as it was intended to be sung. The film’s ending (an homage to VH1's Pop-Up Video) reveals that “Way Back Into Love” became a smash hit for Cora and Alex; the film adaptation of Sloan's novel was a critical and financial flop, destroying his career; PoP! was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and during their performance Colin suffered an injury that required hip replacement surgery; and Alex and Sophie continued their successful partnership in both love and songwriting, collaborating on five new pop hits.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 169 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Music & Lyrics is a light and pleasant romantic comedy that succeeds because of the considerable charm of its co-stars. The music segments featuring Hugh Grant are worth the price of admission." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. 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." 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." Todd McCarthy of 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." 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." 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."

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 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.

Soundtrack

Music and Lyrics: Music from the Motion Picture is the 2007 soundtrack from the film. It was released by Atlantic Records on February 13, 2007, and features songs performed by the film's stars Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, and Haley Bennett. The album reached #5 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks Chart and #63 on the Billboard 200. The song "Invincible" performed by Haley Bennett that plays at the end of the film credits does not appear on the soundtrack. The same is true for the song "Work to Do", written by Adam Schlesinger (who wrote most of the songs for the film) and performed by the folk band America, which plays only at the end of the film credits. Martin Fry of pop band ABC served as Grant's vocal coach for the movie. The album also reached #93 on the Australian Albums Chart.

Track listing

Charts

Home media

The film was released on DVD on May 8, 2007 and on Blu-ray on June 12, 2007.