Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore fail to hit any high notes in this humdrum romantic comedy from writer/director Marc Lawrence (Two Weeks Notice). Grant plays washed-up 1980s pop idol Alex Fletcher, who's competing for the chance to contribute a song to a hot young star's new album. Sadly, lyrics aren't his forte, but his "plant carer" Sophie (Barrymore) proves to have a way with words. After a chucklesome opening that sees Grant doing polite pelvic thrusts à la George Michael in his Wham! heyday, Lawrence runs out of funny ideas. Grant gets his share of snappy one-liners, but his incessant glibness becomes so tiresome that you'll begin to tune him out. His budding relationship with Barrymore is largely unconvincing and it doesn't help matters that she's in constant danger of being upstaged by the vegetation surrounding her. And frankly, the less said about the Stock Aitken Waterman-inspired soundtrack, the better.

A washed-up '80s pop star gets a chance at a comeback when reigning pop diva Cora Corman invites him to write & record a duet with her, but there's a problem--Alex hasn't written a song in years; he's never written lyrics and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days.