DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? (romantic comedy)
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant, Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Moss, Seth Gilliam, Kim Shaw and David Call
Director: Marc Lawrence
Screenplay: Marc Lawrence
Time: 103 mins
Rating: * 1/2 (out of 4)

Sarah J. Parker and Hugh Grant as the Morgans

LET'S CUT TO THE CHASE: To enjoy some movies, you need to leave your brains at the door. For this one, however, you would wish you never entered the door. It is that bad!

WHAT IS IT ABOUT? Meryl and Paul Morgan (Sarah J. Parker and Hugh Grant) are a successful Manhattan couple, whose marriage is on the rocks. After dinner one night, they witness a brutal murder and become targets of a contract killer. The Feds, protecting their witnesses, whisk the Morgans from their beloved New York to a tiny town in Wyoming and a relationship that was on the rocks threatens to end completely in the Rockies - unless, in they can slow down the pace and rekindle the passion.

HITS & MISSES: Mostly misses. The story is unconvincing and writer-director Marc Lawrence does not seem eager to make the formulaic plot convincing. The comedy sucks - none of the lines are LOL-funny - and there is really no spark or screen chemistry between Parker and Grant. In fact, watching this rom-com makes us realise that the two have reached the end of their expiration dates as comedy stars. Grant's blinky-eyed gestures have been used to many times and are more irritating than charming, and Parker looks lost and miserable away from her Sex And The City haven.

And yes, the second half is reminiscent of City Slickers gags and those out-of-town films and here is where co-stars Sam Elliot and Mary Steenburgen strut their stuff as US Marshall Clay and Emma Wheeler, the salt-of-the-earth couple who must show our duo from the Big Apple the rough and rocky road back to romance.

THE LOWDOWN: Set against Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, do you really wanna hear about these Morgans?