For a decade and change, Hugh Grant was the king of the romantic comedy, the perfect floppy-haired vessel for all women (and men) to pin their dreams on made all the more endearing by his seeming inability to handle such affection. Nowadays, he’s more at home playing villainous roles in films like “Paddington 2” and the recently released “Heretic,” but for many, including filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, he will always be that silly man who played with our hearts. While looking back on his career during a recent interview with Letterboxd, Grant recalled an exchange he had with Tarantino where the writer/director shared his adulation for the 2007 musical rom-com “Music and Lyrics.”
“He does love that film. I had this weird experience that some do in London: this sweaty person pushed his way through the crowd to me, and it was Quentin Tarantino,” Grant said. “And to my enormous surprise, he said, ‘Oh, man, I love “Music and Lyrics.”’ He said he watched it on a plane, and was so disappointed that the plane landed before the film ended, that he had to quickly go and order it from Blockbuster or something.”
Set in New York City, “Music and Lyrics” follows Grant as a washed-up ‘80s pop star given a shot at reinvention after collaborating with a talented writer and lyricist, played by Drew Barrymore. While not exactly a full song-and-dance musical, the film does feature many songs and even sees Grant bust a few moves.
“‘Music and Lyrics’ dancing was hell, because it was free-form, express yourself, enjoy the music, feel it like a real rock star,” said Grant. “I’m so not that person, and I really struggled with that. I had to have my charming makeup lady in New York bring me little swigs of whiskey in a 7UP bottle, and a certain amount of lorazepam to really get in the mood for that one.”
However, Grant admits, now that he’s grown up a bit, putting on a show can be quite, especially in the context of children’s film like “Paddington 2” or “Wonka.” He likens this work to more classic forms of cinema and is proud to be in that lineage even if the opportunity to do so is becoming rarer.
“For free-form, it was difficult. In ‘Music and Lyrics’ and in ‘Love Actually,’ that’s hard, but the older I get, the more I love song-and-dance in films,” Grant said to Letterboxd. “And the more I watch Fred Astaire films and things like that, I just think, ‘What’s the point of any other kind of film? They’re so exquisite.’ It’s so sad that they’re not fashionable anymore, the great Hollywood musicals. Bring them back; I’d love to be in one.”
“Heretic” is now in theaters, courtesy of A24 Films.
