Music and Lyrics (2007)

Enjoyable romantic comedy directed by Marc Lawrence. 

A 1980s pop idol named Alex (Hugh Grant) is tasked with writing a song for a Shakira-like pop star of the present day (Haley Bennett). To achieve this he ends up collaborating with Sophie (Drew Barrymore), the slightly eccentric woman who comes round to water his plants. 

Plot-wise it might sound silly (and indeed it is), but Hugh ’n’ Drew have real chemistry. Also, they get to reel off some genuinely funny lines. 

The film seems to lose its way a little about two thirds of the way through, with a couple of rather misjudged scenes. For example, why does Sophie take a box of biscuits to the party? It seems to be setting up a joke, but there’s no pay off. Was a vital bit of the script cut at the last minute?

Thankfully, the film recovers before the end. 

Kristen Johnston is easy to like as Rhonda, Sophie’s sister. Grant is surprisingly effective as a pop star, and his song and dance routines are all quirky and enjoyable.

The Girl on the Train (2016)

A hysterically overwrought thriller adapted from Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel. 

Emily Blunt plays an alcoholic divorcee who stares out of a train window and obsesses over two couples she passes. This obsession ultimately implicates her in a murder mystery for which she ends up the prime suspect. 

It’s a good idea, but it just doesn’t work. It’s excessively melodramatic, veering on the horror genre at points. Blunt walks around like a zombie, pale, trembling and rather frightening. While that makes sense in the light of her drink problem and the emotional state that caused it, it doesn’t make for a very appealing film and it adds to the ugly aesthetic all round. 

The “patchwork” approach to times and events is effective and just about comes together. The related device of only certain parts of the story being recalled owing to booze-induced blackouts also gives it a Hitchcockian dimension, allowing us to piece together what really happened at the same time as Blunt. But these elements are weakened by characters that just don’t convince. The behaviour of the bearded shrink (Édgar Ramírez) seems unlikely, somehow, and other characters’ motivations, such as those of Megan (Haley Bennett) are not fleshed out satisfactorily. 

The biggest flaw is this: of the four people she observes, Blunt is more obsessed with a pair of strangers than she is with her own ex and his new partner, who live two doors away. How could that be? She’s oddly oblivious to the interaction between the two couples, which is at the heart of the plot. 

But if you are seeking something trashy, gripping and escapist (and often I am), it will certainly keep you entertained.