Did You Hear About the Morgans?

This looked like a fun movie when I first heard of it, and I subsequently downloaded the high-def trailer, watched it and was convinced I should see it when it was out. The Morgan’s are a married but separated couple living in New York. Professionally they are both very successful and the movie starts out with Meryl Morgan being in the midst of a whole lot of media coverage. A few months after their separation, on Paul’s request they go out for a dinner, and on their way after witness a murder. The murderer notices them, and they are forced into the witness protection program. As part of this they are required to relocate together temporarily to a quiet town in Wyoming. The killer is on their trail, and life in Wyoming takes some getting used to. The question is, what impact will this have on their failing marriage?


From seeing the trailer, what made this romantic comedy (RoCo) different for the several others of its kind, was its seemingly different setting, and its few additional twists to the usual RoCo formula. Having watched the movie, I’ll have to admit that the trailer was true to the movie. While some components of Did You Hear About the Morgans? was in keeping with the usual RoCo method, some of it presented a slight change. Taking the core of the story out of a busy town and putting in Wyoming, added both a nice change as well as a leisurely pace to the movie. That said, if you’re looking to be rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically all through, you’ll probably find Did You Hear About the Morgans? a little laid back. Though the happy ending and predictable silly murderer seemed a tad cliché, at the end of the day it was a RoCo and things were light, funny and entertaining. Give this one a whirl and you’ll find it pleasantly refreshing.

Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker were perfect, and the entire movie pretty much depended on their performances. Considering the movie turned out pretty good, it’s obvious that they did a fine job. There were a lot of other supporting characters, especially the town folk of Cody, Wyoming, who helped set the pace/mood and keep it real. Hugh Grant as Paul Morgan was brilliant in his usual not so obvious yet comical way. The completely natural way in which he presents his humor is probably what makes him one of the most unique and impressive RoCo actors. Over the years, irrespective of the success of the individual movies, I’d have to say that it’s been hard to ever fault Hugh Grant’s performance. While I wouldn’t quite put them in the same league, Sarah Jessica Parker was also wonderful as Meryl Morgan. Her character had some situational wackiness that she pulled off very well. Additionally she balanced the romantic yet quarrelsome component of her character’s personality very well. Overall, both of their performances were splendid.

I watched this movie as part of the in-flight entertainment on Qatar airways. The quality seemed equivalent to that of a commercial DivX (ripped from DVD). Giving it some thought, from a practicality stand point, that made sense for airline entertainment. While the video was good for most part, it suffered from the usual reduced color vibrancy, that can be associated with DivX rips. Additionally, the individual LCD screens seemed average at best, with extreme impact caused by minimal adjustment in viewing angle. Being a new movie, I’d expect the DVD release to be clear and flawless, with natural colors. The aural experience was obviously limited to 2 channel stereo. The head phones provided were average, though adequate for non audiophiles. Again, I’d expect the DVD soundtrack to be good, and there’s room for impressive ambience owing to the unique setting of the movie.

My Recommendation: Watch It (A cut above the regular RoCo barrage)