by Jules Brenner

Created on: February 14, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

He's the music; she's the lyrics. And, one without the other is often as useful as a piano without keys. At least that's the way it is with Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant), a former 80's pop star barely making his rent with gigs at Knott's Berry Farm, state fairs, amusement parks and just about anything manager Chris Riley (Brad Garrett) can book him on, short of Bar Mitzvahs.

Alex's highly successful career as part of a Wham band known as "PoP," in which hyper singing and hip dancing were the requisites, never required him to write lyrics - something for which he has little aptitude except for knowing one when he hears it. His special ability is to turn poetic phrases into music, and then to sing and dance the crap out of it.

When pop diva Cora Corman (Haley Bennett), contacts him about writing a new song to be called "Way Back Into Love," as a duet with that retro feel for both of them to perform at Madison Square Garden, he's got to hire a lyricist, pronto. With an impossible deadline of three days to come up with something that works for Cora, there's no time to waste.

To fail is to miss the only big opportunity in years and Alex means to do what it takes.

He immediately gets a lyricist on board and they get to work, but it quickly becomes clear that they're not meshing. They get stumped on a line. The plant lady, Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) can't help but overhear the session while watering the greenery and offers a lyric. Alex likes it. Pretty soon she's coming up with more and she's really ringing Alex's ear for a potential tune. Professionally mortified by Alex's taste for a plant waterer's rhymes over his own, Mr. Lyricist fumes with insult as he sails conveniently out the door.

Which leaves Alex at his piano trying like hell to convince Sophie she's got talent, which she denies. She wants no part of working with him on the song. But, however, his urging (and what is, at best, a fabricated plot hurdle) puts them together, working it out and, finally, recording the new song as a temp track for Cora. They manage to get it to her at the deadline, just as she's about to take off on her helicopter. (Think Britney).

Cora dons a headphone and listens. Alex tries to do a sell job in his inimitable repartee' way, but she is so concentrated on the song he gets the message to shut up. All talk ceases. The world stops. People barely breathe. The track ends and Cora removes the earphones. She beams - loves it. Alex and Sophie are in and, though they don't realize it right

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