If "Music and Lyrics" were pieces of clothing, the movie would be that comfy pair of pajamas and slippers you wear on a lazy Sunday morning.

There's nothing terribly original about the romantic comedy, but because "Music and Lyrics" is so darn soft and lovable, you can't help but sink into its warm embrace and leave the theater with a big, dumb smile.

Most of that credit goes to stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, who both have never been more charming on screen. They create such a winning chemistry together you get the feeling they could read the phone book to each other and the film would still be engaging.

Barrymore, in particular, radiates a warmth and vulnerability in her role as Sophie, an unlucky-in-love recent graduate-school refugee who falls for a 1980s has-been British pop musician named Alex (Grant), who is still living off his banal one-hit wonder song "Pop Goes My Heart."

Grant, who plays his usual foppish character, gives his best performance since the wonderful "About A Boy" in 2002. Sure, we've seen this before — the boyish charm, the dry wit and the mischievous twinkle in his eye — but he does the role so well it doesn't matter.

And a surprise: Grant's singing is pretty good, especially an admittedly sappy ballad he croons during the film's climax.

This being a romantic comedy, Sophie and Alex first encounter each other in a "meet cute" scene. She's filling in for a friend who takes care of Alex's plants. He's struggling to write a comeback duet with a pop princess named Cora (Haley Bennett, doing a devastating comic combination of Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani).

When Sophie offers a few inspired lyrics, a desperate Alex offers her a job co-writing the song. He'll write the music, she'll write the lyrics.

While writing the song, Alex and Sophie fall in love, of course. But will the romance continue after the project is finished? That issue is never much in doubt, but because you like the characters so much, the predictable story doesn't matter.

In addition to the winning screen chemistry between Barrymore and Grant, writer-director Marc Lawrence (who also directed the charming "Two Weeks Notice" and the not-so charming "Miss Congeniality" movies) displays a clever ear for parody. His lampooning of 1980s-era music videos is spot on, especially the bad haircuts and tight pants. Alex's performances at high school reunions and amusement parks also get a lot of laughs.

And then there's the dimwitted Cora, who is at one point accused of single-handedly destroying two forms of music. (Think Stefani's god-awful "Rich Girl," which egregiously samples from "Fiddler on the Roof," to get an idea where Lawrence is going with the parody.)

But the reason to see "Music and Lyrics" is Grant and Barrymore. Let's hope this isn't the last time the two stars appear on screen together.