Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Paul and Meryl Morgan (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are a Manhattan couple who have separated—he's a philandering lawyer, she's a high-end real estate broker. Perpetually busy, the pair have their personal assistants (Elisabeth Moss, Jesse Liebman) schedule a reconciliation dinner at a pricey restaurant, but while walking back to their respective domiciles, the Morgans inadvertently observe the murder of an international arms dealer and are spotted by the contract killer (Michael Kelly). As a result, the Morgans are taken into the witness protection program and relocated to Wyoming, where they're placed under the aegis of folksy U.S. Marshal Clay Wheeler (Sam Elliott) and his wife Emma (Mary Steenburgen). A staunch vegetarian and member of PETA, Meryl is appalled by Emma's freezer full of fresh meat, while perpetually flustered Paul has a terrifying encounter with an angry grizzly (his chemistry with Bart the Bear is actually better than with his shrill, querulous wife). Writer-director Marc Lawrence offers us flat, fish-out-of-water caricatures, while relying on city-vs.-country life situations dating back to Green Acres and stale red state/blue state jokes (only a cameo by Wilfred Brimley, as a cantankerous curmudgeon, scores laughs). Bland, charmless, witless—trust me, you don't want to hear about the Morgans. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Marc Lawrence and costars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, an “International Special” making-of featurette (14 min.), a location featurette (18 min.), a “Cowboys and Cosmopolitans” featurette with Grant and Parker (8 min.), “A Bear of a Scene” segment (6 min.), a “Park Avenue Meets the Prairie” costume featurette (5 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), outtakes (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live “movieIQ” feature. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)