Cadê os Morgan?

"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.

This film is about a separated couple who has to move to a small town in the countryside, after witnessing a murder.

I thought "Did You Hear About the Morgans" was funny! Yes the plot follows the same formula as of all romantic comedies, but it is enjoyable and fun. There are some laugh out loud moments, such as the angiography joke or the fourteen political followers joke. I think does present the life of a small town in an entertaining and humorous way. I particularly like Mary Steenburgen's character, when she talked about reconciling with her husband because of lots of cows, she looked so genuinely reminiscent the amazing feeling. This backdrop of a small town provides the catalyst for a change in the Morgans' relationship status. Sometimes, a change is what is needed for things to go well!

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.

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

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.