Review of Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This is really quite predictable as such rom-coms go, although movies from this genre do tend to be, especially those starring Hugh Grant, from what I know(!). Its basically the old tale of city dwellers being made to get used to country life, or at least life in a much smaller, rural town where they feel out of their depth and of course, or so you hope, hilarity ensues.

I felt overall that this was really too bland and unmemorable for my tastes - its certainly nothing new. The dialogue didn't really stand out and the people they were forced to stay with under their new identities were too stereotyped for my liking. What this really needs is more thought into the script to make it stand out, more witty dialogue or one or two stand out characters but it really didn't seem to have any of that, as far as I'm concerned. Hugh Grant plays the usual somewhat charming but rather superficial and a bit of an English buffoon type in Paul Moergan. Sarah Jessica Parker plays the self assured, successful yet rather naive and a bit of a daydreamer type in Meryl Morgan. Really neither of them step out of their comfort zones in this movie and I found it hard to really share much interest in their characters as they both seem rather selfish in their own ways. There are some comedic scenes present but its pretty run of the mill stuff, so nothing to get too excited about, put it that way.

I think as rom-coms go (as it were), this one is at best average or just about alright but no more than that. Its certainly an easy watch but having seen it, I have to think quite hard to recall a great deal about it - it doesn't have much substance especially memorable moments. If anything, this seemed like a prolonged exercise in enforcing stereotypes - the 'city dwellers' vs the 'country bumpkins' - yes its probably pretty much what your picturing based on that desciption. I suppose its fair to say that its somewhat diverting and, as I say, easy to watch but other than that, its really too predictable and cheesy, I can't really think why this movie would be specifically recommended.

Content wise, this movie should offend few people, that is if your ok with the corny characters and stereotypes portrayed (such as those who give them their new identity and who live in the rural area, being big fans of shooting and enjoying the Rodeo) but other than that, there's next to no strong language used or violence or anything of that ilk.

Length wise, the movie runs for approximately an hour and forty minutes - in this time, the plotline develops at a decent pace I suppose, at least one good point being that there weren't any of the gaps you sometimes find in much longer movies while characters are developed but the storyline seems to be on pause, to the frustration of some.

To be totally honest (and fair), I did watch this movie right until the end and there was something that appealed about it somehow but I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, other than it not being too long drawn out and complicated, I suppose sometimes its nice to watch a basic 'chick flick' that doesn't require too much brain power to follow and this would certainly fit in that category.

Funnily enough, no I wouldn't recommend this film, for the reasons mentioned above (basically I don't feel there's enough specifically about this movie that stands out to make me think its a memorable movie at all). Its pretty easy to watch and you may get a few short laughs from it, if that but thats about it really, so don't expect too much. Its not got much likely to upset others and so it should be ok to watch with the whole family, so thats a plus point.