Sunday, March 11, 2007

Music and Lyrics

Saw Music and Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and that actress who looks like my friend Allison. It was a pleasant enough movie with two complaints. The first is a given -- at one point Drew Barrymore gives a look straight out of Fever Pitch Never Been Kissed The Wedding Singer etc. But we can't fault her, or even "them" for continuing to make these kinds of movies because we keep going to see them. So I guess it's not really a complaint as much as a note because she does it well or we wouldn't keep going. And besides, look at her IMDB list... she's 12-1/2 months younger than me and has credits going back to when I was 4. That's pretty impressive, and extra props for not screwing it up going into adulthood.

The second (and more legitimate) complaint is for poor make-up or the lack of special effects when special-effects are clearly called for. Grant's character is supposed to be a has-been. Part of a wildly famous pop group, he's now a slightly older has-been who performs at fairs and class reunions. But there's a well-done (aka fabulously bad) music video from his heyday you see from time-to-time. They did not do nearly enough to youthify Grant's appearance.

Otherwise, movie was fine and nice and implausible and feel-good.

Oddly, the movie was originally going to be called "Music and Lyics By" which makes more sense but is a worse title. I wonder if more of the music vs. lyrics interplay was cut, from time-to-time the writing seemed to have a High Fidelity-like reverence the part each plays in a song.

7 comments:

Lori said...

"That's pretty impressive, and extra props for not screwing it up going into adulthood."

I'm assuming you mean careerwise, and not in terms of her personal life, seeing as how she was smoking and drinking at 9, into cocaine by age 12 and in rehab at 13 or 14. It's like she lived some other messed-up child star's life but in fast-forward, then was mostly straightened out by the time she was a legal adult. It's better than embarking on that path later and then just continuing on it (*cough* Britney Spears *cough*), but it's pretty sad that her mom's the one that gave her the drugs and alcohol at the start.

James said...

Well, um, yeah. The career part.

Unknown said...

Funny, I consider anyone who appears in an Adam Sandler movie screwing up his or her career.

Drew is on the short list of celebrities I'd have a one-night stand with on the condition she never knew my real name or where I lived. Others on the list include Jenna Elfman, Jennifer Tilly, and the wife on "King of Queens." They are each attractive, but they all seem just a little unglued mentally and or emotionally. From interviews, Drew seems the worst of the bunch. She married Tom Green for crying out loud.

Lori said...

Kevin,

You gotta remember that, when you sleep with someone, you're having sex with everyone they've ever slept with. So by having sex with Drew, you'd also be sleeping with Tom Green.

Is it really worth it?

James said...

Euuuuwwww....

James said...

Euuuuwwww....

Lori said...

"That's pretty impressive, and extra props for not screwing it up going into adulthood."

I'm assuming you mean careerwise, and not in terms of her personal life, seeing as how she was smoking and drinking at 9, into cocaine by age 12 and in rehab at 13 or 14. It's like she lived some other messed-up child star's life but in fast-forward, then was mostly straightened out by the time she was a legal adult. It's better than embarking on that path later and then just continuing on it (*cough* Britney Spears *cough*), but it's pretty sad that her mom's the one that gave her the drugs and alcohol at the start.