Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

moonspinner55 Hugh Grant acquits himself admirably in this half-hearted music biz satire-cum-romantic comedy, which has too many targets, too few jokes and totally unreal characters. A 1980s pop music has-been, a singer/keyboardist once part of a bubblegum outfit called PoP, has recently been commissioned to write a song for the reigning teen-queen on the charts; he likes the randomly delivered lyrics thought up by his substitute 'plant waterer' and they form a songwriting partnership. Drew Barrymore's gregarious personality would appear to be the perfect counterpoint to Grant's dry witticisms, but the dim brand of 'cute' writing here leaves Barrymore stranded. She attempts to fall back on her patented charm and pluck, yet this is the kind of silly screenplay wherein her Sophie Fisher can quickly rattle off rhyming sentences yet suffers a complete block when faced with her nemesis (a best-selling author who...oh, never mind). The strongest aspect of the movie turns out to be the songs, which have an authentically retro feel and almost manage to convince us that Grant could have been another Andrew Ridgeley. *1/2 from ****

Julesecosse For me it got off to a rocky start but settled down into a gentle romantic comedy.There are no surprises here, it is fairly predictable fare. But is has it's charms. The leads work well together; indeed they are the heavyweights of their chosen genre: light and fluffy stuff; I don't think either Drew Barrymore or Hugh Grant have ventured beyond light entertainment; but perhaps that is a good thing; it's where they belong; neither seem to have other aspirations.I thought that the casting was near perfect; the peripheral characters were very believable. I particularly liked the agent(the older brother in Everybody Loves Raymond) and the young singer Cora, who represents everything you can imagine in a young modern pop star. I also liked Justin Timberlake's near cameo (he certainly gets around), he doesn't mind taking the mickey out of himself, though I felt he could have pushed it a little more for comic effect.Definitely one for a relaxing time, when you don't want to use your brain-power.

jc-osms Slightly better than usual Hugh Grant rom-com vehicle which sees him play an ageing, 80's has-been Andrew Ridgley-type popster who gets an unlikely break from the constant round of playing the oldies circuit when he's asked to write a song for the new, hot young Britney / Christina kid-on-the-block. However, rather like, say, Elton John, he doesn't do lyrics and needs to find one fast to complete the new song on deadline and give his erstwhile career a much needed boost. By chance, it turns out his young, female plant- lady (i.e. she waters his plants) has a way with words and because she's also Drew Barrymore they form an offbeat partnership, get involved and along the way solve Barrymore's own issues which revolve around an old teacher of hers who's used her experiences as the thinly disguised subject of a hit, soon-to-be-filmed best seller of his.The film starts off very funnily with a spot-on mickey-take of the relentlessly upbeat 80's videos from those boys from Wham, before the main story takes over and I suppose falters from there. Grant is a bit less gauche and narcissistic than usual (strangely so, given his character's C.V. here) and Barrymore is more clever than cute when her character might have played better if those traits were reversed.There's not a great deal of romantic spark between them although cosmetically they spark a little better off each other. Sadly, the supporting characters are thin while story goes through the predictable series of will they, won't they get together ups and downs before the expected happy-ending sees the succeed together on a personal and commercial level.The best lines are still those which spoof the 80's music scene, in my opinion, the decade that fashion and talent forgot, the rest of it is, unsurprisingly, soft and warm and fuzzy, rather like a typical George Michael single of the time. The big conclusion, at a massive concert thrown by new hipster Cora, sees Grant, heretofore an inept lyricist, but who throughout must of the film, keeps up a mostly witty and confident dialogue and writes a fluent open-letter lyric to Barrymore just as she's quitting the big showcase concert of Cora's where he appears to be taking sole credit for their new song for Cora.Like 80's music in general, this reasonably pleasant and amusing film doesn't exactly challenge the senses but passes the time amiably enough.

jwells97 The first time I saw this, I enjoyed the comedy, but had a hard time believing that love could develop between a man and woman of different generations. After seeing it a second time, though, I caught many of the details that I had missed the first time and it made more sense. That, of course, heightened my enjoyment even more. Now the premise doesn't seem all that far fetched, after all. Hugh's and Drew's fine singing voices were a pleasant surprise, too. I advise everyone to see this movie at least twice. You'll probably find yourself singing the spotlighted songs for many days afterward. Excellent writing, directing, and acting.