Did You Hear About the Morgans?

"And the skies are not cloudy all day." Home on the Range

They're not cloudy in Ray, Wyoming, where the people are straight out of central feel-good-about-the-country casting, and a separated married couple from the big city can learn a thing or two about down-home love. Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a bland romantic comedy obeying all the clichés about country vs. city and married couples reconciling with a denouement that defines telegraphing.

The Morgans move from NYC in a witness protection plan. The bad guy they saw murder is after them. Certainly not a thriller movie, there is something pleasant about this romantic comedy, both from its charismatic actors Hugh Grant as Paul Morgan and Sarah Jessica Parker as Meryl Morgan and the leisurely pace set by Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen, both actors born to swagger in jeans and holstered guns. Their laid back, married law officers is the balm to salve the critical inclination to dismiss the movie as inconsequential. As a happily married but not complacent couple, they are the paradigm most romances look to capture for the secret of marital success.

That success is the center of the film's thematic purpose, no simpler than confirming the importance of communication and accepting mistakes like infidelity as human. Grant and Parker are engaging enough to carry off this thin comedy, but they have weak dialogue to work with. While they may never be Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, I wish they had the script to put them in contention.

It's pleasant to have a romcom not about lusting singles or vicious divorcées. It would be pleasant as well to have Judd Apatow try this marriage business.

I really did enjoy this movie, it was predictable, yes. But which chick flick isn't? However, I stayed to see how they showed how their "Wyoming" was. It was fairly accurate. The actors dud pretty well were pretty good, we really do have horses, hunt, fish and some of the houses look exactly like that. There were some differences of course. In the larger cities, we don't always leave the cars unlocked but in smaller towns for sure. Friends and family are always allowed to take our truck or car. I say give the movie people a chance, maybe eventually they will film a correct Wyoming. At least this one was actually in the USA. Most of them are filmed in Canada... which looks nothing like the real Wyoming.

Did You Hear About The Morgans stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, two actors I take joy in watching so I was looking forward to this movie, while fearing the worst after not exactly hearing good things.

Of course the premise is preposterous- an estranged couple witnesses a murder after an attempt at a reconciliatory dinner in New York City, and is shipped off to a remote part of Wyoming as part of a witness protection program.

Hugh Grant is predictably funny in this film, with his usual self-deprecating British humor, and desperate, wretched faces. He has a lot of funny one-liners, one of which is that he could hear "his own cells dividing" after their first night in Ray, Wyoming. He is desperately trying to win back the affection of Meryl, his wife who he cheated on, and to get himself pardoned for his mistake. She is less able to forgive and forget but evidently, being in this new setting will be a huge help for both of them, a way of bonding in the harsh countryside.

There were funny dialogues and even true ones, shedding light on the problems of couples- cheating, fighting, infertility etc. It was also a window- though very much exaggerated- into the soul of two hard working New Yorkers, something I could relate to. Clichés abound, however, and are too many to name but here are a few- Meryl is a neurotic, overstressed and controlling New Yorker, a vegetarian and member of PETA (I have nothing against that, I am as well!). People who do not live in big cities are gun toting, bargain shopping, meat eating Republicans. Assistants are blackberry crazed peons, and so on.

I very much liked the scene where they tell each other their wedding vows again, particularly Hugh Grant's to Meryl, an original, sweet, self-written testament of his love and promise of devotion to her. There was lots of wit written into the dialogues of this film which made it pleasant to watch, at times.

Fabio liked this more than Invictus but I have to say the great amounts of rodeo scenes, cow milking and bear attacks were too much for me. The end bordered on the ridiculous but the very last scene of the movie was touching and slightly made of for it, at least leaving me with a nice final impression.

If this movie is taken as a simple, light, romantic comedy it can be enjoyed, but do not expect too much from the Morgans.

My rating: 6 Fabio's: 7.5 Total score: 13.5 http://paulinasmovies.blogspot.com

I am very disappointed so many people have trashed this movie. There were so many funny jokes made by Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker; and Hugh Grant's accent and phrases are hysterical. For example, in the beginning the Federal Marshall tells Sarah Jessica Parker she has to make a choice between dying and leaving New York and there is a long pause as they all stare at her and she says, "Hold on I'm thinking." I think the combination of them together was very funny. Also, if you have ever lived in a big city or a very rural area - you can identify with this! I love their interactions with Sam Elliot and Mary Steenburgen. In another scene, Hugh Grant is served a plate of eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries covered in country gravy by Mary Steenburger and she asks him if he needs anything else, and he replies, "Just an angiogram." They are complete opposites. Plus I am sure there are many women out there who can sympathize with Sarah Jessica Parker's character. I recommend giving this movie a chance!!

My husband and I just got back from seeing "Did You Hear About The Morgans" and it was a cute movie but very predictable. Hugh Grant's acting is almost painful to watch. I had read somewhere that he actually doesn't like acting and it appears that way in this film. Sarah Jessica Parker acts the same way she does in Sex And The City. She isn't much for characterization. Sam Elliott and Mary Steenberger have smaller parts but they are the best thing about this movie. Both are superb actors and don't "overact" or "overdramatize" their parts. Overall it is a cute date movie and it's worth seeing but I can't give it more than four stars. It is just another cookie cutter type romantic comedy that Hollywood is cranking out these days. You can actually predict some of the dialogue.