Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker in a movie, together? Quite an unlikely (by that I mean awkward) pair.

Set in New York and Wyoming, Did You Hear About the Morgans? revolves around a high-profile couple, real-estate agent Meryl (a syrup-voiced SJP) and lawyer Paul Morgan (a stuttering Hugh Grant), who witness a murder, and are forced to move to redneck town under a witness protection programme.

As if homicide wasn't enough, the pair are estranged -- Paul's infidelity caused the couple to go on trial separation before their relocation -- so there's an overwhelming amount of interpersonal shenanigans.

From the beginning of the movie, the odd couple are so mismatched that it is exhausting to watch them work out their marriage. The lines are tired, and the acting lacklustre. Grant is the bigger offender, what with all the groveling in his British accent. Chemistry was what the couple lacked: even in intimate moments, there is no warmth in the kisses.

The only bits in the movie where you actually can cough up a laugh are when personal assistants Adam (Jesse Liebman) and Jackie (Elisabeth Moss), bicker over petty squabbles. Adam and Jackie resemble the main couple's dynamics: Jackie commands while Adam is spineless. However, Liebman and Moss embrace their characters with more pizzazz, and end up stealing the spotlight from the leads.

There's a highlight in the film: Paul and Meryl go out on a date to Annette's (the only restaurant in small-town Ray, where the residents are mostly Republican); Meryl delicately reasons with the overweight, silver-moustached restaurant owner, Earl (surprise, surprise), that Democrats maintain the balance in American society and not everyone enjoys second-hand smoke. The tension between these two opposing sides of American society is palpable. 

But the story-line ends typically: the urbane couple end up with a growing fondness of their earthy hosts and landscape. How predictable.

Cast Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant, Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Moss, Jesse Liebman Director Marc Lawrence Runtime 103 mins Opens 31 December 2009