‘Music and Lyrics’ is the Ultimate Perfect Date Night Movie

'Music and Lyrics' is a Rom-Com Worth Watching

My husband and daughter have both been asking me to cover this movie for months. Seven months of him saying, "Jen, Music and Lyrics — when are you gonna do it?" I wasn't sure because there are a few scenes that are anything but wholesome, but my husband said, "Just tell them about those parts. The rest? Come on. It's a fantastic film." So here it is.

My husband's and my favorite rom-com is Music and Lyrics, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.

What Is 'Music and Lyrics' About?

This movie is about a has-been eighties star — Hugh Grant's character, Alex Fletcher — who has a chance to make a comeback by writing a song called Way Back Into Love for a Shakira/Britney Spears type singer named Cora Corman, who was a fan of his in his heyday from a band called Pop.

The problem is Alex doesn't write lyrics. He says it only worked with his former partner, so he needs a lyricist. His publicist hires a guy who writes a revenge-style song — not exactly what you'd expect for something titled Way Back Into Love.

In comes Sophie Fisher, played by Drew Barrymore, who is simply there to water Alex's plants. She overhears the lyricist and Alex working on the song and ends up uttering her own words to the melody Alex is playing on the piano. It shocks him. After just fifteen minutes of going back and forth with her, he genuinely believes she is a natural born lyricist — despite her beliefs to the contrary. They end up partnering together, and the whole movie is about them writing the song.

Why You'll Love 'Music and Lyrics'

You'll have so many laugh-out-loud moments with your spouse that will just make you feel good and happy all around. Especially if you grew up in the eighties like I did. If you didn't, you're in for a treat — this film does an amazing job of taking you back to that era.

The Eighties Factor

My daughter loves this movie too because she's a mini-me when it comes to eighties music. The film crew did an amazing job creating a brand new eighties music video for a song called Pop Goes My Heart, which opens the movie. It is so funny. In Alex Fletcher's words: it's spot on. They got every detail of eighties music video history — the cheesiness, the hair, the dance moves, the background, the visual effects, the corny storylines. I'm an eighties music fanatic and I know a lot of those videos were cheesy when you look back at them today, but we love them. It's a shame music like this isn't made anymore.

You'll experience the entire music writing process throughout this film, which both my daughter and I greatly appreciate since we're both learning musical instruments. I'm trying to learn the piano and she's trying to learn the guitar. If you think of your favorite song right now, no matter what genre it is, I always wonder — how do they come up with the melody, the right tones, the right pitch, and all the rest?

I love the analogy Sophie Fisher uses in this movie to describe how important lyrics are. When Alex says that lyrics don't mean anything, she tells him: the melody is like the instant attraction to somebody, but the lyrics — that's the person's song, who they are, their soul. That is such a great analogy. Isn't that true?

The Humor in 'Music and Lyrics'

There is a ton of humor in this movie. At the very beginning stages they're stuck in writer's block and Alex is gently pecking out the Jeopardy theme song. Sophie tells him, "That's really helpful." It goes all night, and the next morning she tells Alex she thinks they should get some breakfast. He says nope, they're on a roll. And she says, "There will be no more rhymes until I'm fed." He gives her a look, and she adds, "I could be inspired with just a piece of bread." I just love those lines.

Sophie's quick wit in this movie totally reminds me of my husband, who has ruined so many of my favorite eighties songs with his humor. I can't listen to them anymore because he and my sons are always singing the lyrics he made up. For instance, the classic Then He Kissed Me by The Crystals — my husband changed it to And Then He Kicked Me. Another song, Counting My Lucky Stars by Larry Bagby — who also played Ernie AKA Ice in Hocus Pocus, and whose song was featured on an episode of Cold Case — my husband changed to Counting My Lucky Charms, like the cereal. My kids love it, but it bugs the snot out of me because I can't enjoy those songs anymore without hearing his versions. This quick-wit style of humor is exactly what you get in Music and Lyrics.

Content Advisory for 'Music and Lyrics': What We Skip

After watching this, you may feel your older child or children could enjoy it as well. I'd recommend it for ages 11 and up. Here are the things I deem inappropriate for my children — I'll let you judge for yourself.

Scenes to Be Aware Of

There is a kissing scene between Alex and Sophie that leads to implied intimacy. The singer Cora Corman has several scenes where she is dressed very scantily, and the way she dances is very sexually charged in my opinion. We skip those. My daughter knows the routine — she knows the lines in the movie that signal her to ask, "Mom, is this the part where I close my eyes?" And I'll tell her yes. She either looks away, I mute it, or I fast forward through it.

Later in the film, Cora takes the beautiful love ballad Way Back Into Love and turns it into a rap song with inappropriate sounds added in. We skip that too. And in the final concert scene the dancing is also very inappropriate for children in my opinion.

A Teaching Moment

I will say my daughter does briefly see how Cora is dressed, and it has led to a conversation about how inappropriate it is to wear the kinds of things Cora wears in this movie, the influence celebrities have on young girls, and why we shouldn't want to imitate everything our role models do. Those conversations matter.

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A Scene in 'Music and Lyrics' That Always Makes Us Laugh

I've been to many retro artists concerts over the years — I love Richard Marx, Bryan Adams, and Journey. There is a scene in this movie where Sophie is at her sister Rhonda's house — played by Kristen Johnston — and Sophie tells her how she met Alex from the band Rhonda loved and how he invited her to come see him perform that night.

The second Rhonda hears this, she's hyperventilating. Before Sophie can finish her sentence, Rhonda yells, "Gary, I'm going out!" She runs out of the room, grabs her jacket, runs back into the kitchen, yanks her sister by the arm, and jets out of the apartment. This scene always makes my husband turn to my kids and say, "That's your mom." And my kids laugh and say, "Yep, that's mom." I give him the evil eye. I don't think I would be like that. My family seems to disagree.

Why 'Music and Lyrics' Is Worth Your Time

This is the kind of movie that just makes you forget about the chaos of the world. A way to escape, to take your mind off your problems for just an hour and a half, and it will leave you in a better mood than when you started watching it.

My husband and I saw this when it came out in theaters back in 2006. This movie will turn 20 years old next year — time flies so fast. We always remember what theater we went to and where we went out to eat afterwards. There's just something magical about this movie that I can't put my finger on.

The biggest takeaway I want you to have: don't forget to take time to nurture your relationship with your spouse. Sit down, relax, and veg out to this film, and escape from the chaos of the world right now.

Remember what I said near the end of The Incredible Journey episode a couple of weeks ago: we all need to slow down and remember to be with the ones who love us.

Coming up next week, I'm spotlighting an eighties animated TV series that I have a feeling most of you have never heard of — and you may be surprised it was actually shown on network television.

Thanks for listening. Have a great rest of your week. Remember, your values matter and your TV should too. I'll catch you on the next episode.