Music to My Ears
God, weekends are never long enough, are they? I didn’t get to see The Departed or Borat this weekend but did manage to get to the movies to see Music & Lyrics. I wanted to see something light and frothy. I wanted to see someone fall in love in a movie. Pure fantasy.
M&L tells the story of former 80s boy bander Alex Fisher (Hugh Grant). In dire need rejuvenate his career, he’s offered the chance to write a song for teen queen Cora. In comes his plant girl Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) with a knack for lyrics. It all pretty much writes itself but what can’t be manufactured is the chemistry between Grant and Drew. They are both such charming and adorable creatures that it’s hard not to root for them. Grant has a special ingredient that mixes well with his leading ladies. He added a much needed sense of despair and complexity to his character especially for a romantic comedy.
The comic relief comes in the powerhouse form of Kristen Johnston as Sophie’s sister Rhonda. She’s hysterical as the recovering 80s boy band groupie. The opening music video sequence of Alex’s former group Pop is spot on, down to the men with too much lip gloss. It’s kind of embarrassing to say I adored Duran Duran back in the day. They had way too much lip sheen to be taken seriously. Even the idea that the band’s name was Pop was brilliant.
Drew has once again proven herself as the new princess of romantic comedies with a twist. She’s the twist. She’s able to take a conventional romantic comedy and infuse her hippy dippy nature even in a movie like Fever Pitch where she played the corporate girl. She also has that unique quality of producing tears that well up in the eyes but never drop. She joins the ranks of Meg Ryan and Meryl Streep with her crying feats. I can’t name a movie she’s been in where she doesn’t produce this cry.
Overall, it was what I needed, a sugar fix.
What did you see this weekend?
Labels: boy bands, Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, romantic comedies
posted by Pop Culture Diva @ 3/12/2007
3 Comments:
The movie I watched this weekend was at the total opposite of the spectrum from Music & Lyrics:300,with Gerald Butler showing some Spartan spirit,boo-ya!
Such a great movie,filled with bloody battles,kickass visuals and tons of old school style cinematic thrills.
"Gypsy" with Bette Midler, on DVD. What else would jazzhands be watching? ;-)
I recently watched the movie Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. To me, it showed so little of the real struggle that single parents have to face to make not only ends meet, but to realize their dreams. I remember one scene so vividly where Will Smith's character imagines a world of dinosaurs in the subway to ease the embarrassment of having to sleep in a subway restroom for his son. But, where Smith usually gives a sense of reality...it was like watching an acting class between him and his son, and not really caring. The movie overall did not capture, in my opinion the true essence of what the story was all about...a man finding his dream and continuing to be a father, because he himself never had a father figure. Who cares that he had to be a gopher for a bunch of investment jerks. Don't we all have to pay our dues in the beginning...what's so earth shattering about that.
--- Living in Paradise...aka Subnormal Mom
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