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Alex Fletcher (Grant) is a man living in the past. Formerly a member of �80s band �Pop�, the once talented musician is reduced to working the nostalgia circuit, singing at county fairs and the like. When his agent tells him that superstar diva Cora Corman (Bennett) is looking for someone to write and record a duet with her, Alex decides to take a shot at the gig � it certainly has more appeal than his next-best prospect � a possible spot on D-list celebrity wrestling show �Battle of the 80s has-beens.� The problem is that Alex hasn�t composed for years and has no talent for writing lyrics. It�s starting to look like he might have to take his chance in the ring with the rest of the D-listers when Sophie Fisher (Barrymore) turns up to water his plants and everything changes.

This �we love the �80s� nonsense might have seemed like a hot idea when the film went into production but now, left in the wake of the recent revival, it seems doubly dated. Messy plotting and continuity errors make Marc Lawrence�s romcom an irritating watch and the script and music fail to meet the expectations raised by its premise. The somewhat smug song-writing duo bemoan the state of he music industry � personified by Cora Corman, a Britneyesque new-age pop diva played with unsettling accuracy by Haley Bennett � but their own lyrical attempts are woeful.

Grant and Barrymore can�t redeem this shambles of a film. In what is meant to be a climactic scene � where Alex confronts Sophie about her inability to follow through on their song-writing project (and what he believes to be the psychological reason behind this), possibly jeopardising their blossoming romance � Grant totally fails to convince. There is no true emotion behind the words and Barrymore in turn strikes the wrong note, seeming more indignant than wounded by the attack.

Grant�s affability is a real disadvantage here. He looks far too much like he�s enjoying himself when what his washed-up �80s throw-back really needs is some simmering self-loathing to give the comedy a bit of an edge. With little else to fall back on Barrymore flogs her undeniable likeability factor for all it�s worth. Unfortunately this is a game of diminishing returns. By the end of the film what were initially endearing mannerisms have become cloying and irritating.