Où sont passés les Morgan?

Don't be fooled by most of the reviews here. I can't explain them, but it may have something to do with the fact that some of the jokes in the movie are not immediately perceptible to those who haven't worked/lived in a big city.

I just watched this last night and had a blast! It's not for the quality of the movie itself. In fact, some of the acting is quite bad. But one of the points in going to the movies is to have fun. Movies entertain you. And this one did an exceptional job in that matter!

As a comedy, it is one of the best I've seen in the last couple of years or so. It's a good laugh that is worth a watch.

"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 don't understand why this movie has such a low rating. The people who's been voting must have had sky high expectations? It isn't that bad, really it isn't. I considered if I should see it or not, after seeing the rating 3.6 here at IMDb.com. Of course I was discouraged by it, but I needed a movie in the background this morning while I did some other things, and thought this was perfect, since it didn't need my full attention. But I ended up ignoring my chores, giving the movie my attention anyway. Because it wasn't bad. It was what I expected (even better, considering the rating). A predictable romantic comedy. The chemistry between Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't great, but it wasn't lousy either. And Hugh Grant is Hugh Grant, and he used his dry, British humor (which I personally love) as in many other movies. Sarah Jessica Parker did okay in acting too. The movie didn't make me roll on the floor laughing, but it did make me smile a couple of times. And sometimes all you need is a feel-good-movie without any deep conflicts, and with an end you can foresee.

So I really, really, really don't understand why people have been trashing this movie in particular. Give it a chance, at least.

If you're expecting an original groundbreaking comedy, you're probably going to be disappointed by this film. But if you're looking for a bit of sweet entertainment, it will fit the bill.

The acting was pretty decent, and there were quite a few chuckles throughout the movie. If you're looking for much more than that, you'll probably want to pick another movie. The biggest disadvantage was that the plot was absolutely predictable.

However, I was impressed with the way it showed a couple trying to work through a very serious problem in their relationship. The romance part was fairly believable.

It's not a movie that I'm dying to see again or rushing to go out and buy, but it was an enjoyable way to spend some time. I went to see it with family, and we all more or less enjoyed it.

I've read so many critics trashing down this movie that I felt the need to come on its defense. I've seen it just a hour ago and for me it gave me what I was hoping to receive: after a tiring working day, traveling around in the rain, and not having time to lunch, I've stopped for dinner and between the Morgans and Mandela (Invictus) I went and bought a ticket for that romantic comedy. I don't understand how people can be so demanding about the genre. Everybody knows how a romantic comedy ends. It's not the story that matters and although I find Grant and Parker an unlikely match, they made me laugh and that was what I needed. "It's so quiet here I can hear my cells dividing". For that and a little bit more it was a pleasant experience, not so happy as Disneyland, though.