Pop goes my heart for Music and Lyrics
When it comes to movies, there are good movies and then there
are bad movies. Usually I can make a good guess as to how much I
will like a movie before I watch it. I knew
”
Hot Fuzz
”
would be hilarious before the previews started rolling. And I
knew
”
Fast and the Furious,
”
would be a load of crap long before the opening credits got
under way. I can hardly believe they’ve made two sequels
…
Pop goes my heart for Music and Lyrics
When it comes to movies, there are good movies and then there are bad movies. Usually I can make a good guess as to how much I will like a movie before I watch it. I knew “Hot Fuzz” would be hilarious before the previews started rolling. And I knew “Fast and the Furious,” would be a load of crap long before the opening credits got under way. I can hardly believe they’ve made two sequels …
So why would I watch a movie like “Fast and the Furious?” Well, sometimes bad movies can be really entertaining. And once a while, low expectations lead to a pleasant surprise.
More often its because a friend or family member really wants to see a movie and I just go along for the ride. The person who draws me into the most bad movies is my mom. Let’s just say the only books she reads are historical romances so she is a huge fan of the romantic comedy – a genre that is full of more misses than hits.
When we first saw an ad for “Music and Lyrics,” a movie about a washed-up pop star who is asked to write a new song for a Britney-wannabe, she immediately wanted to see it. I kind of ignored the comment. And when the DVD arrived in the mail from Blockbuster online, I put it aside for a couple weeks. Finally, when there was nothing left on Tivo, we popped the movie in.
And I have to say that “Music and Lyrics” had me from the opening credits. As the names are rolled out, a music video starring Hugh Grant with ’80s hair that rivals “Flock of Seagulls,” plays. The song “Pop! Goes my heart,” is as classic as a made-for-movie song can be. As a child who grew up in the MTV era – back when MTV still ran music videos and not crappy reality shows – I say the video surely could have made it on the air.
Flash forward two decades and Alex Fletcher (Grant) is struggling to keep his career afloat with a cache of the old hits – and he’s just lost a gig at Knott’s Berry Farm – the height of his summer tour. Haley Bennett stars as the eastern culture-obsessed pop star who asks Fletcher to write a song titled “A way back into love” for her upcoming tour. Fletcher needs the song to revive his career – but he only writes music and has only managed to come up with awkward rhymes such as tying “you and me” to “autopsy,” hardly romantic lyrics.
Enter Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore), a neurotic woman who shows up one day to water Fletcher’s plants. The former English student has a way with words, though her obsession with an ex who spurned her creates friction for the two as they work closely together to finish the song.
The movie arc is predictable – wonder who falls in love with whom? – but it has consistent laughs all the way through the film. This can be verified by the fact that my sister – a much more discerning movie watcher than me – stopped playing a videogame to watch the movie. Two great sidekicks support the main characters. Kristen Johnson, from “3rd Rock from the Sun,” plays Sophie’s older sister who had a huge crush on Fletcher while growing up and still harbors a little flame for him. Brad Garrett, from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” plays Fletcher’s agent, a guy who can put a good spin on getting rejected by Knott’s Berry Farm.
Barrymore, Grant and Bennett do all their own singing in the film, and though the lyrics are down right silly sometimes – one short song is titled “Love Autopsy” – the singing is good for non-singers.
The closing credits roll again with the “Pop! Goes My Heart Video” and it was enough to keep me watching until the end of the credits. The only downside to the movie: that song gets so stuck in your head you might have to drop $12 to buy the album off iTunes.
