2896. Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009)

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant, Mary Steenburgen

Director: Marc Lawrence

Running Time: 103 mins

Did You Hear About The Morgans? is an American film about a soon-to-be-separated New York couple who, after witnessing a murder, are sent into witness protection together in rural Wyoming.

There’s not much else to say about Did You Hear About The Morgans? than the fact that it’s a very, very predictable and generic romantic comedy. What it may try to change up in the genre’s formula is almost always undermined by predictable twists and turns, and while there are enjoyable moments, it’s far from the entertaining, laugh-filled rom-com it aims to be.

In all honesty, Did You Hear About The Morgans? isn’t a diabolical watch. Its comedy is mediocre, its story is predictable and it lacks hugely in imagination throughout, but at least it’s not a shrill, annoying watch that grates on the skull.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant do lack chemistry, and both put in very exaggerated, almost cartoonish performances. However, the screenplay doesn’t have them at each other’s throats for the whole movie, and the pair do at least have their own individual stand-out moments here and there.

That lack of charisma, though, is a common thread through the entire film. The comedy is painfully mediocre throughout: a couple of laughs here and there, but very poor for the most part.

The story, too, tries to bring something different to the rom-com formula with a pseudo-crime element, but it forgets about it very quickly. In fact, it’s a shoehorned plot device that only appears at the beginning and end of the film, and has next to no bearing on what happens in the middle.

And what happens in the middle is no different to any generic rom-com. A couple on the brink of divorce find themselves stuck together, begin to appreciate each other in a new way, discover a new side to themselves, and then of course comes the same ending as you’re expecting.

The film does so little to deliver anything remotely surprising or genuinely hilarious that it just becomes boring to sit through. It’s not painful, but it’s far from interesting in any way, and you could watch the film with one eye open and still understand everything that’s going on – it’s that predictable.

All in all, there really isn’t much to write home about Did You Hear About The Morgans? It’s not terrible, and fairly palatable for fans of even the most generic rom-coms, but it’s generic to an incredibly frustrating extent throughout. So that’s why I’m giving it a 6.5 overall.