For a decade and alter, Hugh Grant was the king of the romantic comedy, the right floppy-haired vessel for all girls (and males) to pin their goals on made all of the extra endearing by his seeming incapability to deal with such affection. These days, he’s extra at house taking part in villainous roles in movies like “Paddington 2” and the not too long ago launched “Heretic,” however for a lot of, together with filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, he’ll all the time be that foolish man who performed with our hearts. Whereas trying again on his profession throughout a latest interview with Letterboxd, Grant recalled an trade he had with Tarantino the place the author/director shared his adulation for the 2007 musical rom-com “Music and Lyrics.”
“He does love that movie. I had this bizarre expertise that some do in London: this sweaty individual pushed his method by the group to me, and it was Quentin Tarantino,” Grant mentioned. “And to my huge shock, he mentioned, ‘Oh, man, I like “Music and Lyrics.”’ He mentioned he watched it on a aircraft, and was so disillusioned that the aircraft landed earlier than the movie ended, that he needed to shortly go and order it from Blockbuster or one thing.”
Set in New York Metropolis, “Music and Lyrics” follows Grant as a washed-up ‘80s pop star given a shot at reinvention after collaborating with a proficient author and lyricist, performed by Drew Barrymore. Whereas not precisely a full song-and-dance musical, the movie does characteristic many songs and even sees Grant bust a couple of strikes.
“‘Music and Lyrics’ dancing was hell, as a result of it was free-form, categorical your self, benefit from the music, really feel it like an actual rock star,” mentioned Grant. “I’m so not that individual, and I actually struggled with that. I needed to have my charming make-up girl in New York deliver me little swigs of whiskey in a 7UP bottle, and a specific amount of lorazepam to essentially get within the temper for that one.”
Nevertheless, Grant admits, now that he’s grown up a bit, placing on a present could be fairly, particularly within the context of youngsters’s movie like “Paddington 2” or “Wonka.” He likens this work to extra traditional types of cinema and is proud to be in that lineage even when the chance to take action is turning into rarer.
“Without spending a dime-form, it was troublesome. In ‘Music and Lyrics’ and in ‘Love Truly,’ that’s onerous, however the older I get, the extra I like song-and-dance in movies,” Grant mentioned to Letterboxd. “And the extra I watch Fred Astaire movies and issues like that, I simply assume, ‘What’s the purpose of every other form of movie? They’re so beautiful.’ It’s so unhappy that they’re not modern anymore, the nice Hollywood musicals. Carry them again; I’d like to be in a single.”
“Heretic” is now in theaters, courtesy of A24 Movies.