Story
Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a washed-up musician from the 80s boy band ‘Pop’. He now makes his living by appearing at local fairs and sideshows. Still adored by older women, he is also a hero to current pop phenomenon Cora Corman (Hayley Bennett) who wants him to write a song for her. Alex has been separated from his song-writing partner Colin for 15 years and is reluctant to take up the job. He is convinced by his manager Chris Riley (Brad Garrett) to do it. This is because Alex is in a dire financial position.
Alex finds a lyricist in the unlikely person of Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore), his zany plant lady, who has a natural flair for writing. Although Sophie is still getting over a previous relationship, the musical partnership turns into a love affair.
Themes
None of concern
Violence
There is a little violence in this movie including:
- Alex gets into a fight with Sloan Cates (Campbell Scott), Sophie’s former lover.
- Women fight each other to get to the front of the stage.
Sexual references
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
- Cora Corman is portrayed as a sex object and is seen performing in very brief clothing with men touching her all over her body. In one provocative dance she lies down and touches her breasts – Sophie later refers to it as an ‘orgasm.’
- Alex also dances provocatively with exaggerated, gyrating hips, which sends the women wild – they all want to touch him.
- Sophie tells her older sister, who is madly in love with Alex, that she has slept with him.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
- Drinking of alcohol in a restaurant.
- Alex refers to the fact that he got over his loss of fame by using drugs and alcohol.
- There is a reference to the fact that pop stars take too many drugs.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
- Alex and Sophie wake up in bed together, after kissing passionately the night before. They appear to be naked, although nothing is actually shown.
Product placement
The soft drink Coca Cola is used in this movie.
Coarse language
This movie contains frequent very mild coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Music and Lyrics is an entertaining romantic comedy that will appeal to adolescents. This movie could give you the opportunity to discuss with teenage children the portrayal of young women in the music industry as sex objects.