movie review did you hear about the morgans

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Did you hear about the morgans, common sense media reviewers.

Fish-out-of-water romcom is teen-friendly but a real snooze.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Paul and Meryl learn to appreciate what Wyoming ha

Emma and Clay are positive role models for a lovin

Some gun violence, but nothing bloody. A man with

Paul and Meryl kiss a few times and cuddle (in the

One "s--t" and "bulls--t" is t

Several brands are featured fairly prominently: Bl

An elderly man smokes cigarettes in his restaurant

Parents need to know that this Hugh Grant/Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy is a classic fish-out-of-water tale that could appeal to romcom-loving teens, despite its bland story. There are a few kisses and references to sex, marriage, and infidelity. Strong language is surprisingly infrequent (one "s--t"…

Positive Messages

Paul and Meryl learn to appreciate what Wyoming has to offer -- open sky, a slower pace, and friendly, unjaded people -- even though they're die-hard, snotty New Yorkers. The importance of fidelity and loyalty in marriage is another obvious theme.

Positive Role Models

Emma and Clay are positive role models for a loving and lasting -- albeit imperfect -- marriage. Paul and Meryl are at first very annoying, sterotypical New Yorkers (especially Meryl), but they eventually prove that small towns have something to offer even the most cynical, overly chatty city folks.

Violence & Scariness

Some gun violence, but nothing bloody. A man with a knife in his back plunges to his death, and a hit man tries to shoot a couple. The same hit man opens fire again in a crowded place. Most of the population of Ray, Wyo., is armed (legally, it's presumed) with guns, and a couple of scenes revolve around characters learning to shoot a rifle and then using it against the hit man. Comical violence includes the use of bear spray on a man -- twice.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Paul and Meryl kiss a few times and cuddle (in their pajamas) in bed together. They also discuss Paul's adultery on several occasions. Secondary couples dance, flirt, and kiss as well, but nothing too risque.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

One "s--t" and "bulls--t" is the worst of it. Other mild insults/exclamations include "screw you," "hell, yeah," "idiot," "oh my God," and "stupid," as well as Britishisms like "bloody" and "bollocks."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Several brands are featured fairly prominently: BlackBerry, Google, Gillette, Carhartt, Edge, Advil, and Hunt's ketchup. Also lots of New York-specific places and publications, like the Times , New York magazine, Nobu restaurant, Zabar's, etc.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

An elderly man smokes cigarettes in his restaurant. Paul and Meryl have wine on their table at dinner.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this Hugh Grant / Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy is a classic fish-out-of-water tale that could appeal to romcom-loving teens, despite its bland story. There are a few kisses and references to sex, marriage, and infidelity. Strong language is surprisingly infrequent (one "s--t" and "bulls--t"), and most of the violence -- including minor gun violence (and gun use in general, in the parts that take place in Wyoming), as well as some comical scenes involving bear spray -- is concentrated briefly at the beginning and the end of the movie. Expect a fair bit of product placement/promotion, including BlackBerry, Gillette, and more. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (13)
• Kids say (13)

Based on 13 parent reviews

A movie with a Possitive and Thoughtful Plot!!!

Slow-moving but memorable, what's the story.

In DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?, Paul ( Hugh Grant ) and Meryl ( Sarah Jessica Parker ) Morgan are high-powered New Yorkers struggling with marital woes. After a rare dinner together, the pair sees a mob hit and is subsequently placed into witness protection in sleepy Ray, Wyoming. Unable to contact anyone at home, the Manhattan-centric Morgans must live with local sheriff Clay (Sam Elliot) and his wife, Emma ( Mary Steenburgen ) -- two gun-toting, Clint Eastwood -loving law enforcers who couldn't be less like the Morgans. Like all fish out of water, the Morgans grow fonder and fonder of the rodeo town and its quirky, down-home residents. If the Morgans can survive somewhere far, far away from their bagels, BlackBerrys, and problems, maybe their marriage will survive, too.

Is It Any Good?

At this point in their careers, Grant and Parker are romantic-comedy staples, but they share absolutely no chemistry. (You have to wonder, in fact, whether Parker can muster up sparks with anyone other than Chris Noth .) This stereotypical, overly predictable tale about neurotic, type-A Manhattanites stuck in sleepy Wyoming is simply soporific and annoying. Even at 96 minutes, the story stumbles along at an infuriating pace.

The lack of heat between two stars isn't even the worst of it. That would be the film's stilted jokes about "poor" rich New Yorkers who can't go to Lincoln Center or Zabar's or Nobu. Other than in Sex and the City , do audiences even care about how much wealthy Manhattan couples would miss the trappings of city life? When flannel-shirted Clay and Emma roll their eyes at the Morgans, they're channeling the audience. Steenburgen and Elliot merit the movie's one star -- it's always a pleasure to see the two character actors pop up in anything. And for the record, their scenes together are more romantic than anything Parker and Grant display.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie's gun violence and hunting jokes. Is the gun use in the movie meant to be comical? Is it?

How are both New Yorkers and people from Wyoming portrayed? Is the characters' depiction realistic or stereotypical ?

Why do you think the fish-out-of-water genre is so popular? What's funny about seeing people out of their comfort zone?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 18, 2009
• On DVD or streaming : March 16, 2010
• Cast : Elisabeth Moss , Hugh Grant , Sarah Jessica Parker
• Director : Marc Lawrence
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Columbia Tristar
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 96 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : some sexual references and momentary violence
• Last updated : April 5, 2023

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans? Reviews

...a meandering and thoroughly conventional romcom that relies mostly on the charm of its stars to keep it afloat...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 26, 2020

Parker isn't called upon to do anything she hasn't done a million times before.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.0/4.0 | Sep 6, 2020

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

I wish I could answer 'no' to the movie's title question.

Full Review | Original Score: D- | Nov 5, 2011

Despite a breezy premise, this rom-com displays lazy filmmaking at almost every level of the production

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jul 6, 2010

Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a ship without a rudder, floating and then sinking from the moment it touches water. It is so hopelessly inept that you feel like a big, bad bully picking on it.

Full Review | Jul 6, 2010

To end my assessment on the level of the film's writing, you'll wish you never heard about the Morgans. (Ha ha ha)

Full Review | Original Score: 0/4 | May 16, 2010

The mediocre material gets a boost from a hardworking Grant, who uses his trademark bumbling formality to deliver dry commentary and wring out the most laughs possible.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jan 31, 2010

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 20, 2010

Potro%u0161eni Hugh Grant i antipati%u010Dna izvedba S.J. Parker u komediji koja je trebala biti slasher horror

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Jan 20, 2010

You've seen it before, and you'll see it again. In one way or another 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?' is the same old fish-out-of-water story that's been put to film dozens of times.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 14, 2010

This ultra-mild frolic follows the 'fish-out-of-water' comedy formula so closely its lack of surprise is almost, well, surprising.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 5, 2010

Hugh, what a stinker! Mediocre sit-com humour doesn't help an unoriginal premise and a star pairing with less believable chemistry than a pebble and another slightly smaller pebble. Where's a straight-to-video distributor when you need one?

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 5, 2010

In a silly way, it is entertaining, the mismatch is actually weirdly plausible, and try as I might, I couldn't be grumpy about it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 5, 2010

Parker is better, injecting a note of rawness and authenticity into an otherwise misconceived subplot about adoption. Even she can't fake any curiosity in, yet alone sexual chemistry with, Grant.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 5, 2010

The trouble with his new film, though, is not its lack of grit, but its lack of ambition and originality. It's one of those films that you've seen before - even before you've seen it.

Perhaps this new decade could be the one in which female audiences are treated as something other than a dumping ground for the lazy, complacent idiocy that has passed for chick flicks of late.

The jokes come thin and slow, the thrills are non-existent.

Full Review | Jan 5, 2010

The cinematic equivalent of throwing buckets of money at a house with no foundations. The worst thing is, and sadly for cinema, this house shows no sign of falling down any time soon.

A hellish rom-com bereft of chuckles and charm. A good screwball comedy should have laughs, heart, sexiness, rapid-fire banter and, most importantly, chemistry between its two leads - Did You Hear About The Morgans? has not one of these things.

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)

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Did you hear about the morgans — film review.

As with most mainstream comedies, you get nearly all of the story line and most of the best jokes in "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" from its trailer.

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press

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As with most mainstream comedies, you get nearly all of the story line and most of the best jokes in “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” from its trailer. This fish-out-of-water romantic comedy about a warring upscale Manhattan couple forcibly relocated to the American heartland is marginally better than writer-director Marc Lawrence’s “Music and Lyrics” and “Two Weeks Notice,” but not even the estimable comic chops of Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker can lift it above the level of ordinary.

The titular couple is Paul and Meryl, whose marriage is on the rocks because of his recent infidelity. Now Paul’s desperately trying to get her back, but his attempt at reconciliation is dashed when they stumble on to a murder and are forced to enter the Witness Protection Program.

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Safely ensconced in a small Wyoming town under the watchful eyes of the local sheriff (Sam Elliott) and his shotgun-toting wife (Mary Steenburgen), they find themselves gradually warming up to each other again while dealing with their cell phone-free cultural dislocation. This includes shopping at the local big-box store, milking cows, shooting guns and running away from the occasional bear.

Meanwhile, they’re being pursued by the vengeful hit man (Michael Kelly), who eventually shows up for the inevitable climactic shootout.

Offsetting the story’s predictability is Lawrence’s ability to craft genuinely funny one-liners, which are expertly delivered by Parker in a variation of her high-strung Carrie Bradshaw character and Grant with his amusingly droll laid-back manner.

Happily, the Midwestern characters are not reduced to stereotypes, with Elliott and Steenburgen quite winning as the Morgans’ protectors and Wilford Brimley providing some fun moments as a cantankerous cafe owner.

On the minus side, Elisabeth Moss is utterly wasted as Meryl’s no-nonsense personal assistant, even if she does get to show a more glamorous side than with her “Mad Men” character. Opens: Friday, Dec. 18 (Columbia)

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• DVD & Streaming

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

• Comedy , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 18, 2009
• Hugh Grant as Paul Morgan; Sarah Jessica Parker as Meryl Morgan; Sam Elliot as Clay Wheeler; Mary Steenburgen as Emma Wheeler; Wilford Brimley as Earl; Michael Kelly as Vincent

Home Release Date

• March 16, 2010
• Marc Lawrence

Distributor

• Columbia Pictures

Movie Review

If you’re from NYC and someone out West asks if you hunt, you probably smile awkwardly and say, “Only for bargains.”

That’s what Meryl Morgan claims.

Meryl, a card-carrying PETA member—is the No. 1 boutique real estate agent in New York City. Her husband, Paul, is a successful attorney. But the big city life may be taking its toll. After he cheats on her, they separate.

Paul’s sorry and wants to reconcile. But Meryl doesn’t trust him anymore.

Always one to grovel—repeatedly—Paul convinces Meryl to have dinner with him. To talk. At the end of an I’m-so-sorry-please-don’t-divorce-me meal, he and his relationally reluctant wife take a walk—and happen to witness the murder of one of her clients. Now they’ll be star witnesses in the case.

The killer got a good look at them, so the Feds relocate the couple. To Wyoming. To Ray, Wyoming. To a place where they don’t even have a Bargain Basement warehouse store (like they do in Cody), much less a boutique real estate office. Neither Morgan is thrilled about this. Meryl says she’s tried bagels in other parts of the country, and she doesn’t even like Connecticut’s. Ray probably doesn’t even have bagels.

Positive Elements

Local lawman Clay Wheeler and his wife, Emma, take Paul and Meryl in for a few days. And the rest of the townsfolk generously embrace Paul and Meryl. And though the city slickers seem to feel a tad superior at times ( theirs is not a world of guns, meat-laden refrigerators, cowboy hats, conservative politics and breakfasts that require an angioplasty chaser), they grow to appreciate “country folk” and the charms of rural living.

They also slow down their frenetic East Coast pace and, thanks to the absence of smartphones, the Internet and cable TV, gradually relight their marital spark. After all, you can’t have a relationship without time and intentional communication .

Forgiveness between spouses is a huge theme in The Morgans . Meryl, too, has committed adultery, and must admit it to Paul. Just as she has struggled, he struggles to accept her apology and come to terms with her unfaithfulness, and the two eventually experience the resuscitating beauty of reconciliation. Once as they are bickering, a frustrated Clay says to them, “Marriage doesn’t make sense! Stop thinking about [your failures]! Make it work!” Emma comments that Paul and Meryl can still laugh together—an important sign that they still have a relationship to work with.

Rather than continue to expect everything from Paul, idealistic Meryl comes to understand that no one can fulfill her every need or dream perfectly—though Paul says he still loves her enough to try. Gradually, the two come to realize that their marital crisis can make or break them, and they choose to turn it into part of the brick in their new foundation.

Spiritual Elements

Americans are said to be “God fearing.” But Meryl says she’s agnostic. And Paul thanks the God that she’s not sure of for fooling her into to marry him. Indeed, Paul has a habit of flippantly thanking God or saying, “Lord in heaven” when he’s in pain or perplexed.

Sexual Content

Paul and Meryl talk about having to have sex while she ovulated, and he jokes about foreplay. There’s a joke about sperm. It’s implied they have sex when he carries her into his bedroom, and they snuggle (when they’re speaking to each other) in bed. Several women wear tops that reveal cleavage. Couples kiss.

Violent Content

A murdered man falls from an apartment balcony onto the sidewalk below. (He lands offscreen.) A bodyguard is shot twice in the chest, and multiple other shots are fired, sometimes through windows that explode into shards. Paul and Meryl flee such gunfire several times.

A bull charges, but doesn’t badly injure, Paul and Meryl. A bear chases Paul. (Trying to spray the bear with repellant, Meryl manages to get more in Paul’s eyes than on the bear.) Twice, a woman tasers a man, who falls to the ground in agony.

Crude or Profane Language

At least three s-words. God’s name is misused about 30 times, and Christ’s twice. Paul uses the British expletive “b-llocks.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

A café owner smokes in his establishment and refuses to quit when Meryl (who is appalled) asks him to. Alcohol is served with a meal or two.

Other Negative Elements

Stereotypes loom large in this romcom. When she first meets Emma—who has just purchased a new rifle and is wearing a cowboy hat—Meryl quips that it must be Sarah Palin. A bumpkin doctor and his nitwit nurse might be nice people, but they’re never shown to be professionals. Republicans are said to be grudge-holders who keep track of every single Democrat in town. (There are only 13 such residents in Ray.)

Similarly, Meryl and Paul play their big city superiority to the hilt.

Paul and Meryl take verbal swipes at each other when they don’t see things eye to eye.

This is for my East Coast friends who, like Paul and Meryl, do not seem to understand most west-of-the-Mississippi lifestyles: We do not all sport guns, eat opossum or wrastle bears in our backyards. (Well, bears do show up from time to time, but we don’t try to befriend them.) We also have running water.

Now that that’s cleared up, I’ll say that Did You Hear About the Morgans? goes for grins more than it goes for cultural jugulars. It’s an easygoing, formulaic film that indulges a bit of unnecessary language and a few poorly chosen jokes, but remains a comparatively decent romp through small-town USA—and the dynamics of marriage.

Variety critic John Anderson calls it “a fish-out-of-water story with a bit of a freshness issue.” He’s just about hit the trout on the head. To take the food analogy a step further, though, sometimes processed cheese in a can tastes better and is easier to digest than other movies’ Limburger-inspired obscenities, gore and sensuality.

It is refreshing that Meryl and Paul finally “get it” and reconcile their relationship. You want them to get back together from the very beginning. And they do—learning quite a lot about how to stay together along the way. As a friend once told me, “Marriage isn’t about each person giving 50%. It’s about both people giving 100% to love each other.”

That makes sense to me. Apparently it does to the Morgans, too, because they demonstrate that working hard to work it out can turn any old place you might be forced to stay into the Ritz.

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What possible reason was there for anyone to make "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" Or should I say "remake," because this movie has been made and over and over again, and oh, so much better.

The story: Feuding couple from Manhattan is forced to flee town, find themselves Fish Out of Water in Strange New World, meet Colorful Characters, survive Slapstick Adventures, end up Together at The End. The only part of that formula that still works is The End.

I grant you Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker evoke charm in the right screenplay. This is the wrong screenplay. I concede that Sam Elliott is always welcome, except in that one eerie role he played without his mustache. I agree Mary Steenburgen is a merry and fetching lass. I realize yet once again the durable validity of Siskel's Question: Is this movie more entertaining than a documentary of the same actors having lunch?

Grant and Parker play Paul and Meryl Morgan, a wealthy Manhattan couple, childless, but they hope someday to adopt. This virtually guarantees a cute little orphan in the final reel. Meryl is Manhattan's No. 1 "boutique Realtor." One night they're going together to show one of her multimillion-dollar properties when they witness her client being pushed from his balcony by a mean-looking villain.

He gets a good look at them. It was an important murder. Of course they must be sealed inside the Witness Protection Program and shipped out West, to where the men are men and the women are happy of it. In this strange new world where the men wear cowboy hats and the women wear cowboy hats and bake, will they find themselves in a rodeo? Let's put it this way. The closeup of a local rodeo poster and the matching shot of Hugh Grant squinting at it virtually guarantees that.

Saints preserve us! Not another one of those movies where Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker end up as the front and back halves of a rodeo clown's cow suit! What's that you say? This is the first one where they've been inside the cow? Does it feel that way to you? What's that you say? You bet they'll be chased by a bear? Come on, now: surely only one of them!

Paul and Meryl (unusual name, that; Where did they find it?) end up as the house guests of Clay and Emma Wheeler (Elliott and Steenburgen), the local sheriff and his deputy. Now that's clever thinking! Where better to hide protected witnesses than as the guests of the local law enforcement couple? Of course, Clay and Emma are hard to spot as they patrol on their horses with rifles and cowboy hats and mustaches and whatnot.

Paul and Meryl are dudes without a ranch. The town, meanwhile, embraces them. It's in Wyoming, I think someone said, and of course it has all of Wyoming's friendliness: The locals turn out with open arms, as they always do when two East Coast elites hit town and start asking people in the local cafe to refrain from smoking. Why, look! There, at the next table! It's Wilford Brimley ! Smoking! It's not every day one movie offers the two most famous mustaches in Hollywood.

Well, you'll never be able to guess what happens then. And whether the villain turns up. And whether anyone is chased by a bear. And whether Paul and Meryl go to the rodeo. And what kind of an animal they wind up playing the front and back halves of. And whether they adopt a cute little orphan. And whether that mean old Wilford Brimley ends up grudgingly liking them after all. And whether he ever stops smoking. But one thing's for sure. You'll feel like you've already heard about the Morgans.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence

103 minutes

Hugh Grant as Paul

Sarah Jessica Parker as Meryl

Sam Elliott as Clay

Mary Steenburgen as Emma

Dana Ivey as Trish

Wilford Brimley as Earl

Written and directed by

• Marc Lawrence

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Movie Review: Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)

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• 2 responses
• --> December 23, 2009

Did You Hear About the Morgans? , the latest romantic comedy from director Marc Lawrence purports to be one of those cutesy, funny things happen when two people are put into foreign or uncomfortable positions kind of films. It succeeds in putting its stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker in stupid situations. It fails miserably, however, at making them funny in any way, shape or form.

Which for the most part is a bit of surprise to me as Marc Lawrence has a relatively good track record of rom-coms behind him — Music and Lyrics and Miss Congeniality , good; Two Weeks Notice , not so good. So assuming he knows more often than not what he is doing, I have to ask him, “In what world does telegraphing every plot sequence or dropping heard before one-liners equal charming or funny?” I suspect the Bizarro World. I would have expected him to insist on a screenplay cleanup but then I recalled he was the screenwriter too . . .

Anywho, seeing as he and the actors in Did You Hear About the Morgans? went through the paces, so shall I. A married Manhattan power couple, Paul and Meryl Morgan (Grant and Parker), witness a murder. Said murderer knows who they are. Whisked away under the Witness Protection Program to Rae, Wyoming, Paul and Meryl suddenly find themselves completely out of their element — people wear cowboy hats, carry guns and attend things like the rodeo for fun. Oh my goodness! Playing babysitter for the dysfunctional Morgans is the local sheriff Clay (Sam Elliott) and his wife Emma (Mary Steenburgen). Lucky them.

So while they’re in the middle of rural hell, the thin as a wafer script calls for the bickering and separated Morgans to rekindle their love through a host of contrived and “so far outlandish that it is impossible to believe” set pieces. Yet no matter how ridiculously improbable a situation they find themselves in, you know precisely how each scene is going to end practically before it starts! So when all combined, the entire film is entirely predictable from beginning to end — exactly what you should want to pay for!

Perhaps the biggest kick in the groin though, is the absence of any chemistry whatsoever between Paul and Meryl. Plot stupidity and inconsistency can be overlooked if the match between leads and/or characters is good. She is a self-absorbed, materialistic and annoying bitch — the kind of woman who should never be married (hell, if I was Grant’s character, I’d have cheated on her too). His character, for lack of a better word, is just a plain old asshole. Not even Grant’s boyish charm, a staple of his that he’s built his career upon, can add any luster to this jerk. When combined, they mix into something that closely resembles sludge.

Did You Hear About the Morgans? I have, and wish to hell I hadn’t.

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)' have 2 comments

May 11, 2010 @ 9:28 am Stacie

I’m not surprised at all that this movie doesn’t work. I would never have put Grant with a woman like SJP, something about it just doesn’t click to me. And it’s time Grant let go of the whole ‘oh I’m so charming and befuddled’ act anyway. He was much more interesting in Bridget Jones.

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February 27, 2011 @ 8:39 pm flash

It is hard for me to watch Sarah Jessica Parker in anything other than Sex and the City. I thought that “Did You Hear About the Morgans” was decent. I will watch anything with Hugh Grant. I think he is wickedly talented. As for the movie, I would say, wait until it comes on your local network and save your 5 bucks.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) Review

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)

Did you hear about Hugh Grant being a charmingly befuddled Englishman? Did you hear about Sarah Jessica Parker being a decidedly metropolitan New Yorker? Have you heard about the state of Wyoming liking gun slinging cowboy culture and disliking sophisticated city folks? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you probably know enough about Did You Hear About the Morgans? to ever bother watching it. Based on the hackneyed witness-relocation-program premise, this fish-out-of-water comedy is combined with a will-they-or-won’t-they romantic comedy to create a tale about two people who try so hard to not be together that they can’t help but be together.

Grant and Parker play Paul and Meryl Morgan, a Manhattan couple going through the motions of separation following Paul’s bouts of infidelity. Paul’s a high-stakes lawyer and Meryl a high-priced realtor, so naturally, it takes the unwavering dedication of their overworked personal assistants (Jesse Liebman and Elisabeth Moss) to even get them in the same restaurant. After one particularly awkward dinner, the couple witness the murder of a noted arms-dealer. Then, for the Morgans protection, they’re immediately placed in protective custody. Sent to Ray, Wyoming, they’re reborn as Paul and Meryl Foster, the cousins of the local sheriff, Clay Wheeler (Sam Elliot). But as luck would have it, the fresh country air and the silent Wyoming nights help the troubled couple remember why they fell in love in the first place.

With that being said, it’s worth noting that The Morgans was not the painful experience you might expect it to be. There’s something about the Grant/Parker dynamic that strikes a believable comedic balance of discomfort and discord, even though much of the humour tends to falls flat. There are some scenes where the embarrassment of the actors is clearly etched upon their faces.

For instance, Grant looks like he’s swallowed castor oil in between takes, probably in penitence for playing his I’m-so-English schtick one too many times. Sam Elliot looks bored as hell, perhaps because he’s Hollywood’s go-to guy for world-weary rural lawman roles. Incidentally, Sam Elliot and Tommy Lee Jones should headline a movie called “Southern Policemen Stereotypes”. And I’m not sure how Michael Kelly got cast as the bumbling assassin who plagues Paul and Meryl, but he was about as threatening as Grant with five o’clock shadow.

Did You Hear About the Morgans? is not without its easy charm. Unfortunately though, it lies mostly in the secondary characters who don’t get nearly enough screen time. For instance, it would have been great to see more of the slow-boil sexual tension between the two personal assistants. Especially considering Liebman’s charmingly befuddled role is not only better than Grant’s, but his interplay with Moss’ passive-aggressive perfectionist character provides some much needed comedic relief and unexpected heart.

Also, the relationship between Clay and his wife (Mary Steenburgen) seemed more worthy of exploration than did the dysfunction interaction of the Morgans. Even a brief cameo by Wilford Brimley provided a welcome distraction to the predictable developments of this movie. And by the way, what does it mean that Grant had more comedic chemistry with Brimley than he does with Parker? A buddy movie wherein the grizzled Brimley lobs insults at his flimsy cohort may make a comedy worth seeing.

Basically, The Morgans is good for a few giggles. There’s nothing here that’s outright laugh-worthy because so much of the humour is based on antiquated stereotypes. You know what would have been refreshing? If the Morgans had moved to Wyoming and found that they like it there better than their New York lives, or if the assassin chasing them didn’t seem so inept that he looked like he should have been trying to rob Macaulay Culkin’s house. In the end, this film lacked surprises, and it ended up playing out more predictably than a Three Stooges short involving either food or paint. If you hear about The Morgans at all, you’ll probably hear that it was not that great, and that you should have got to the theatre earlier for that 3-D screening of Avatar instead.

Final Thoughts

Brendan Frye has over a decade of experience in the gaming and media industry. From an early age, he loved gaming, and that life-long passion has found its way to his work. He now works as the EIC of CGMagazine, along with acting as a Judge for numerous gaming conventions. He contributes to shows such as The List and other radio and TV programs. When he is not working, he can be found enjoying the latest Souls experience or finding a good horror movie that is in need of watching.

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Estranged Manhattan power couple the Morgans witness a hit after an altogether unsuccessful reconciliation dinner. Exiled into protective custody together in remote Wyoming while the Feds track down the assassin, they’re forced to exist without the trappings of modern life – phones, internet, etc – fendin’ off bears and shootin’ at cans before, as you’d expect, rekindlin’ their flaccid marriage. Writer-director Marc Miss Congeniality Lawrence’s fish-out-of-water romcom suffers in the main from having a female lead who can’t do comedy. A decade of delivering Carrie Bradshaw’s self-satisfied bon mots has no more transformed elegant fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker into a clown than sticking a tutu on pratfall queen Sandra Bullock would make her a prima ballerina. SJP’s boutique real-estate agent Meryl is written ditzy but played painfully straight, making a distractingly haggard Hugh Grant’s mugging and quips as her legal-eagle husband look like anomalies in this all-too-predictable trip to Dullsville, USA.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Details: 2009, USA, Cert PG, 103 mins

Direction: Marc Lawrence

Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance

Summary: An estranged New York couple who witness a murder are relocated to small-town Wyoming as part of a witness protection programme

With: Elisabeth Moss ,  Hugh Grant ,  Mary Steenburgen ,  Michael Kelly ,  Sam Elliott and Sarah Jessica Parker

Our reviews

Philip french.

There's little to love about this tale of an NYC couple rediscovering love in Wyoming, writes Philip French

Peter Bradshaw

A decent romcom with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. By Peter Bradshaw

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Related articles, did you hear about the morgans they're bad news for marriage.

David Cox: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker's celebration of wedded love won't do much to cut the divorce rate

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Did You Hear About The Morgans? Parent Guide

While there are serious concerns this film glosses over in a comedic fashion, this movie provides a refreshingly positive message about marriage and the importance of living up to one's vows..

After witnessing a murder, the Morgans (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are placed in the witness protection program. Yet the New York couple with a struggling marriage isn't sure which might kill them first: The criminal or having to live in small town Wyoming -- with each other!

Release date December 18, 2009

Run Time: 101 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

After watching this movie’s trailer for months, spending even part of an evening with the Morgans seemed like it would be a sacrifice. I didn’t think I could stomach one more depiction of Meryl Morgan (Sarah Jessica Parker) running after a loose horse or Paul Morgan (Hugh Grant) trying to appease a grizzly bear by promising to become a member of PETA. And enough already with the Sarah Palin joke. It’s old news.

But in case you haven’t heard about the Morgans, they’re a high-powered New York couple. She sells real estate. He is a lawyer. They’ve been separated since Meryl found out about Paul’s infidelity while he was on a business trip to L.A. She got the apartment. He lives in a hotel.

To protect the Morgans until they can testify in court, U.S. Marshals (Kevin Brown, Steven Boyer, Sharon Wilkins) force the two unhappy members of this marriage into the Witness Protection Program. Their home-away-from-home is Ray, Wyoming, where they temporarily live with Clay and Emma Wheeler (Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen), the local law enforcement agents.

From the moment of the Morgans arrival at the Cody airport, the script pits the stereotypical depictions of snooty New Yorkers (who can’t live without their Blackberry devices, bagels and good Chinese takeout) against the unsophisticated country folk who gather at Annette’s diner for home cooking and watch bull riding for entertainment. Meryl steps off the plane in a pair of high heels that would make Carrie Bradshaw coo, only to be met by Emma checking out the rapid-fire action on a new rifle.

Fortunately the film doesn’t stay mired down in these oversimplified portrayals. Alongside jokes about mounted animal heads, vegetarianism and being a Democrat in a predominantly Republican state, the script addresses the issues that are tearing this young couple apart. But rather than getting marriage advice from a trendy counselor in a high-rise office, Paul and Meryl learn a thing or two about devotion and fidelity from Clay and Emma while splitting firewood and milking cows. And though neither couple is ready to embrace the others’ lifestyle, they do gain a healthy respect for their similarities and differences.

In the meantime, Paul and Meryl also get out of their own heads long enough to share their relevant expertise with the other citizens of Ray and make some new friends along the way. While there are still plenty of serious concerns this film glosses over in a comedic fashion (like a killer on the loose and issues of infertility) and certain content concerns (frequent terms of Deity, the brief use of other profanities and the depiction of a murder), Did You Hear About The Morgans? provides a refreshingly positive message about marriage and the importance of living up to one’s vows.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Did you hear about the morgans rating & content info.

Why is Did You Hear About The Morgans? rated PG-13? Did You Hear About The Morgans? is rated PG-13 by the MPAA PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence.

A murdered man falls from a second floor balcony after being stabbed in the back. A man is shot in the chest at close range. A killer fires at a couple on multiple occasions in an attempt to kill them. An individual is hit in the head with a horseshoe. Characters are sprayed in the face with bear spray several times. A couple repeatedly discusses a past infidelity (without explicit details) and infertility problems. Embracing and kissing is depicted between married couples. A man walks in on another man in the shower and later embraces him. The sight of meat in a fridge disgusts a character. A wild animal threatens a man. One character smokes in a restaurant and others drink at a social event. The script contains infrequent profanities and scatological slang along with numerous terms of Christian Deity.

Page last updated October 31, 2020

Did You Hear About The Morgans? Parents' Guide

How vital is it to continue courting after marriage? What happens when this couple is forced to give up their cell phones, pagers and other electronic devices? Why is it important in a relationship to have time away from the demands of work and other responsibilities, even if only for a little while?

What role do personal assistants play in the lives of Meryl and Paul? Who is really running these executives? What would you have a personal assistant do for you?

How do men and women differ in the way they deal with problems? Is Paul as anxious to talk as Meryl? How is forgiveness and the building of trust portrayed in this film?

The most recent home video release of Did You Hear About The Morgans? movie is March 16, 2010. Here are some details…

Release Date: 16 March 2010 Did you Hear About the Morgans? releases to DVD and Blu-ray with the following extras: - Deleted Scenes - Outtakes - Commentary with Director Marc Lawrence and stars Hugh Grant & Sarah Jessica Parker - Featurette: Location, Location, Location (The Making Of Did You Hear About the Morgans?), Cowboys and Cosmopolitans (The Stars of Did You Hear About the Morgans?), Park Avenue Meets Prairie (The Fashions of Did You Hear About the Morgans?), A Bear of a Scene (Behind the scenes with the bear trainer from the film) and International Making-of Specia l. The blu-ray disc also includes: - MovieIQ - BD-Live

Related home video titles:

Although the Morgans are sent to Wyoming to hide out, this production was actually shot in New Mexico. For films featuring sites from Wyoming, check out the following titles. In A River Runs Through It , locations around Granite Falls show up in this tale about two brothers who have nothing in common except fly-fishing. The alien invasion movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind features the state’s famous Devil’s Tower. Flicka , shot partly on a ranch in Sheridan, tells the story of a young girl who adopts a wild horse. In Rocky IV , Jackson Hole stands in for Siberia when the fighter heads to Russia for training.

Did You Hear about the Morgans? (United States, 2009)

Did You Hear about the Morgans? Yes and, to be perfectly frank, I wish I had been spared the experience.

I'm gullible. I'll buy just about any premise Hollywood is selling, provided it is sold well. Did You Hear about the Morgans? proves these filmmakers couldn't sell ice cream to a kid in the middle of the summer. Not only does the movie fail to convince, it doesn't seem concerned about convincing. It's a romantic comedy, so we're supposed to take it on faith that the male lead and female lead will end up together at the end. Likewise, we're not expected to notice the contrived contortions the script goes through to arrive at that destination. The film is so obvious about how it goes about things that it's almost embarrassing. Unattended phone in the doctor's office - think someone will use it who's not supposed to be making calls? Lessons about shooting a gun - think that will come in handy when the bad guy pays a visit? And what about horse shoe expertise shown by one of the characters? Writer/director Marc Lawrence is inexcusably clumsy in presenting the roadmap. This is what critics mean when they say "the seams show." The world inhabited by these individuals fails to become real. It's never anything more than "just a movie," and not an especially good one, at that.

Of all the actresses Hugh Grant has been matched with over the years, Sarah Jessica Parker represents a nadir. There's nothing between these actors. There's no pop or sizzle. The characters say they love one other, but those are just words. There's no sense of affection. No passion, even when they fight. Their dialogue rings hollow. These two aren't believable and their relationship is a black hole. Who cares? We're supposed to be invested in getting them to connect by the closing credits, but this is one stock that never has value to begin with.

As Paul Morgan, Grant (over)uses his patented "aw shucks" charm to compensate for the fact that his character is a cheating ass. Then again, once we are introduced to his less-than-blushing bride, Meryl (Sarah Jessica Parker), we can understand the appeal of a one-night stand with someone else. What's more difficult to comprehend is why he would want to salvage his marriage to someone so shrill, superficial, and self-absorbed. But he does, and that's why they're wandering a New York City street in the rain at night after having endured a tense dinner. They are unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (kind of like anyone who has ventured into a theater showing this movie). They witness a murder and the killer sees their faces. The FBI places them in the "witness relocation program," provides them with new (temporary) identities, and ships them off to Ray, WY to stay with the local sheriff, Clay Wheeler (Sam Elliott), and his wife, Emma (Mary Steenburgen). While there, Paul and Meryl work to rebuild their marriage while doing stupid things that will allow the killer to discover their location.

Did You Hear about the Morgans? wants to be a combination romance and fish-out-of-water comedy, but it doesn't succeed as either. It wastes too many opportunities to have some fun with the concept of a materialistic city girl out of her element (consider how little is done with the staple cow-milking scene). Even Green Acres wasn't this inept. Most of the jokes are halfhearted and poorly delivered (although, to be fair, Grant gets in a few good one-liners). The entire production is weighed down by the preposterous premise and the need to have a final confrontation with the killer. This is an albatross around the neck of a movie that already has too many other things pulling it to the ground.

By all accounts, Hugh Grant is in a state of semi-retirement. His ability to cherry-pick his projects to suit his tastes makes one wonder why he would select something with such a dubious script. I suppose it has something to do with director Marc Lawrence. This is the third movie they have made together (following the breezy Music and Lyrics and the limp Two Weeks Notice ), and they appear to enjoy working together. Too bad the fruit of those efforts isn't less rancid by the time it reaches theaters.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans?

2009, pg-13, 103 min. directed by marc lawrence. starring hugh grant, sarah jessica parker, sam elliott, mary steenburgen, michael kelly, elisabeth moss, jesse liebman, wilford brimley., reviewed by marjorie baumgarten , fri., dec. 18, 2009.

From its difficult-to-remember title on down, Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a forgettable and lackluster fish-out-of-water rom-com. The film exploits tired stereotypes about city and country folks while being propped up by the kind of irrational narrative logic that can only exist in the movies. Paul and Meryl Morgan (Grant and Parker) are a high-profile New York City couple who have separated due to Paul’s marital infidelity. (No details are divulged, but you sort of get the feeling that Divine Brown might be lurking somewhere offscreen.) Paul desperately wants to reconcile and arranges a dinner date for the two, whereupon the couple witnesses a homicide during a postprandial walk. Having seen the killer’s face, the authorities decide it’s best, following an attempt on Meryl’s life, to place the Morgans in the Witness Protection Program and ship them to Wyoming. In the non-rom-com world, most cops might have them pore over fat books of mug shots, but then again, most other killers would hide out or skip town instead of racing all around risking exposure by bumping off the inadvertent witnesses. Of course, a week cooped up together out West reminds the couple of how much they still love each other, and as was declared in that great Western romance from a few years ago, “I just can’t quit you.” The movie’s wan script by writer-director Lawrence ( Two Weeks Notice , Music and Lyrics ) almost makes the viewer wish that actors Grant and Parker, who each here underplay their signature stammering and bubbliness, were allowed free rein to infuse their characters with greater liveliness. Used with even less regard for character definition are the supporting actors, especially Moss (so compelling on TV’s Mad Men ) and Liebman as the Morgans’ personal assistants. Elliott does his usual laconic and iconic thing as the Wyoming marshal who puts the Morgans up in his home for the week. Only Steenburgen as the marshal’s gun-toting wife and partner in arrests comes out of this movie looking good. In her Western gear and with a no-nonsense attitude, Steenburgen adds a striking presence to the film. There are bears and horses and a rodeo to keep the story moving along – even a small, unnecessary role for Brimley as a quintessential Westerner. None of it feels integral to the story, and it concludes as unrealistically as it began. So now you can say, indeed, you have heard about the Morgans, smile politely, and move on to the next movie playing at the multiplex.

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Did You Hear About the Morgans? , Marc Lawrence , Hugh Grant , Sarah Jessica Parker , Sam Elliott , Mary Steenburgen , Michael Kelly , Elisabeth Moss , Jesse Liebman , Wilford Brimley

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Rotten Tomatoes® Score

...a meandering and thoroughly conventional romcom that relies mostly on the charm of its stars to keep it afloat...

Parker isn't called upon to do anything she hasn't done a million times before.

I wish I could answer 'no' to the movie's title question.

Despite a breezy premise, this rom-com displays lazy filmmaking at almost every level of the production

Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a ship without a rudder, floating and then sinking from the moment it touches water. It is so hopelessly inept that you feel like a big, bad bully picking on it.

To end my assessment on the level of the film's writing, you'll wish you never heard about the Morgans. (Ha ha ha)

The mediocre material gets a boost from a hardworking Grant, who uses his trademark bumbling formality to deliver dry commentary and wring out the most laughs possible.

Potro%u0161eni Hugh Grant i antipati%u010Dna izvedba S.J. Parker u komediji koja je trebala biti slasher horror

You've seen it before, and you'll see it again. In one way or another 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?' is the same old fish-out-of-water story that's been put to film dozens of times.

Additional Info

• Genre : Comedy
• Release Date : December 16, 2009
• Languages : English
• Captions : English
• Audio Format : 5.1

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