Music and Lyrics
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 72
  3. Negative: 5 out of 72

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  1. DougM.
    Feb 20, 2007
    10
    Best romantic comedy in years, avoiding the tired cliches that plague the genre. The self-mocking Grant, of his lame fame past is hilarious, and Barrymore is the most natural leading lady staring today. My wife and I loved it. One of those movies that I laughed about long after I left the theater. Only a hopeless cynic would not like this movie.
  2. AllenN.
    Mar 28, 2007
    9
    What screenwriting course, book or set of self-hypnosis tapes has writer-director Marc Lawrence been availing himself of lately? The man who brought us Miss Congeniality (a thoroughly mediocre script that was made watchable by an extremely engaging cast) and Two Weeks Notice (a desperate, laugh-free effort that even the cast didn't help) has made a 1000% quantum leap over his previous efforts, giving us an uncommonly smart, endearing and consistently funny romantic comedy that's also uncommonly perceptive about the American popular music industry, circa the 1980s and today. The MTV-video parody that opens the film is so delightful, well observed and absolutely spot-on that I was prepared to be let down by everything that followed, and I absolutely wasn't: this tale of how has-been Pop! singer Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant channeling Andrew Ridgely, the half of Wham! that doubles as a Trivial Pursuit question) and a young woman, Sophie Ridgely (Drew Barrymore, intensifying all the crushes on her that currently exist and undoubtedly starting a few new ones) who's better at writing lyrics than watering plants, get together both professionally and personally is not only beautifully constructed in the manner of some of the best "battle of the sexes" comedies of the 1940s and 50s, but features endless bright dialogue, extremely catchy songs that are also accurate period pastiches, and--best of all--two flawed but intelligent, lovable human beings you really care about and root for. Nothing wrong with the supporting players, either: Brad Garrett, as Grant's sweetly resigned manager, rises from the ashes of his embarrassing work in The Pacifier to prove that there really is life after Everybody Loves Raymond, while Kristen Johnston, the rubber-faced Amazon from 3rd Rock from the Sun, is a comic marvel as Barrymore's giddy but wise older sister--the almost-throwaway sequence in which she tries to get her picture taken with Grant is a gem! Equally good, both in conception and interpretation, is Haley Bennett as Cora Corman, the flavor-of-the-month trillion-selling artist that Grant and Barrymore are writing for; Lawrence makes the very smart move of writing her as spoiled but not a brat. (She's predictably wrongheaded in some major ways, but that's because she's young and placed in the middle of an extraordinary situation she doesn't have the experience or wisdom to handle; unlike certain current pop stars we could name, she retains enough decency and common sense to assure us that she'll turn out fundamentally OK when she grows up.) The one common characteristic shared by romantic comedies and horror films (besides the fact that very few of either reach $100 million at the box office) is that in both genres you have to slog through a lot of dreck to find a good one: with every When Harry Met Sally... or Pretty Woman comes a dozen Must Love Dogs, Wedding Dates or Little Black Books. That's why it's so pleasantly surprising to come up with not one but two terrific ones in the last four months: the warm, uncommonly satisfying crowd-pleaser The Holiday and this. If my luck in other areas of life runs parallel to this, perhaps I'm doing the wrong thing at this moment. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to run out and buy a whole bunch of lottery tickets!… Expand
  3. BeckyWilson
    Mar 3, 2007
    10
    Hugh Grant just stays adorable. It is so lovely to have him aging right along with me! Very fun movie and a must for anyone who loves vintage Hugh Grant.
  4. CaitlinS.
    Feb 19, 2007
    10
    This was such a cute movie! I laughed and laughed and it was so much fun! A perfect date movie with all the things you want: romance, comedy, twists and more comedy!
  5. LynnW.
    Feb 18, 2007
    9
    Although the pattern of the plot is like most other romantic comedies. the texture is something special, I thought. It's not so cliche-laden, the acting and scenes are more realistic. I really liked this movie.
  6. RogerD.
    Feb 18, 2007
    10
    A wonderful "happy" movie---a real feel good movie. The spoofing of today's music vs. 1980's music is right on!
  7. PnArdyPnArdy
    May 13, 2007
    9
    Loved it. Great comedy romance musical with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.
  8. VinceO.
    Feb 22, 2007
    10
    It was exactly as advertised. Patty, and I loved the movie.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 30
  3. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    70
    An agreeably loopy romantic comedy that bounces along effortlessly on the genuine chemistry of leads Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.
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  2. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    Music and Lyrics is frequently appealing, often witty, and occasionally funny, but it's not going to convert skeptics and cynics into sentimentalists.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    Grant carries the day as the fortysomething lad still living off his youth and just about getting away with it.
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