An aged former pop star (Grant) teams with his poetic "plant girl" (Barrymore) to pen the next hit for a rising teen sensation. Do they fall in love? Why, you'll have to watch the movie.

First and foremost, the actors must be applauded for branching away from their romantic comedy typecasts. Here, Grant plays a charming Brit who fumbles over his forced one-liners, while Barrymore is the cute, clumsy birdbrain with a broken heart. Much of your interest in Music and Lyrics will depend on your admiration—nay, tolerance for the stars.

Little seems right with their characters. Grant’s Surreal Life-bound Alex (who used to head the new wave pop group, PoP) calls The Beatles and Smokey Robinson inspirations (for getting into a Duran Duran-esque band?), labeling their music as “dinner”, while his lyrics are merely “dessert”—whatever that means. Why this guy hasn’t succumbed to a cocaine habit is beyond me. Instead, he’s recruited Barrymore’s ditsy Sophie, who has a knack for poetry (at least according to the script), to help pen the music and lyrics for a booty-shakin’ incarnate of Shakira, named Cora (Haley Bennett). When their songwriting fails, Sophie realizes the magic can’t be forced in order to make a #1 hit. Now there’s a lesson director Marc Lawrence should take to heart.

But if these characters aren’t your cup, the make or break factor rests with the music. “Way Back Into Love” (and a handful of other ditties) function the way “That Thing You Do!” does—it’ll be stuck in your head after the credits roll, so be prepared to either buy the soundtrack or pull the trigger. Luckily, nearly every song is charmingly catchy; the highlight being PoP’s hit single, “PoP! Goes My Heart”, which is shown in the form of a hilarious parody of a combination of every ‘80s new romantic music video you’ve ever flipped the channel on. It’s a showcase of slow-mo, split-screen, and cheesy storyline--and it works better than anything in the film. Another plus is that Grant and Barrymore (whose chemistry keeps the film afloat) provide their own vocals (Grant’s coach was Martin Fry of ‘80s not-so-super group ABC).

As the end credits rolled, the video for “Pop! Goes My Heart” was replayed, this time in a clever VH1’s Pop Up Video fashion. I couldn’t help but sit back and think Music and Lyrics really could’ve been a clever parody, had it tried to be at least a dessert, instead of settling for being merely an after-dinner mint that loses its taste halfway through.

Video: 1.85:1 Widescreen

Audio: Available in Dolby Digital 5.1 for English, Spanish, and French, with subtitles for each.

Both aspects are passable; any flaws won't affect your viewing.

Deleted Scenes (11:06): There are several here, too many of which feature the doorman or Brad Garrett. None really enhance the story or offer any laughs, so you’ll survive if you skip ‘em.

Gag Reel (4:12): Nice to hear Hugh Grant cursing again, even if it is bleeped.

Note for Note: The Making of… (13:00): This is your average making of… featurette that covers all the stuff fans of the movie couldn’t care less about. Skip.

The final (and best) feature is the Music Video for “PoP! Goes My Heart”.

Music and Lyrics has charm, but sort of runs in circles with it. Released theatrically on Valentine’s Day, it’s a fine date movie. Released on DVD May 8th, it’s just your average rom-com.