Movie rating: 1 and half Star

Did You Hear About The Morgans?

There's something to be said for the generic romantic comedy. Sure, more often than not they're utterly forgettable fare, with a conclusion you can foresee coming from the trailer alone; but for about 90 minutes you can live in a world where the good guy gets the girl and everyone lives happily ever after. Alas, this hackneyed, insipid comedy did not take me to a happy place; charmless and devoid of laughs, it relies too heavily on its leads for chuckles when they were never in the script to begin with.
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are a bit of an "it" couple in New York. Recently separated due to Grant's infidelity, he's trying everything in his power to get his missus back. One night, having convinced her to go dinner, they see a man being murdered; upon fleeing the murder scene, they find out the murderee was a witness in a case that involves a powerful arms dealer, and are promptly shipped off to arse-end of nowhere in case they get whacked by the same man. Once there, all fish out of water like, they soon grow to enjoy the simpler things in life, such as each other. And running. And Republicans.
Even the most hardcore romcom fan will have trouble finding something here to enjoy. Grant and Parker seem like the perfect pairing on paper, and writer/director Lawrence has thread this ground before to modest success with Music and Lyrics, he just failed to inject his script with any originality or charm. Instead, we've got a man who cheated because his wife annoyed him for a kid, and a selfish rich girl as the ones we're supposed to root for. Even the tried and tested 'fish out of water' scenes fall flat - a former comedy stalwart.
Everyone is sleepwalking through this, and there are no funny supporting characters to save the day. A clichéd, unfunny, bland carcass of a film. Crap title too.

Story by Mike Sheridan | 09:00 | Friday 1st January 2010 | DVD review

• PreviousIt's Complicated
• View all
• NextAvatar