Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Marc Lawrence
Produced by	Martin Shafer Liz Glotzer
Written by	Marc Lawrence
Starring	Hugh Grant Sarah Jessica Parker Sam Elliott Mary Steenburgen Elisabeth Moss Wilford Brimley David Call Michael Kelly
Music by	Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography	Florian Ballhaus
Editing by	Susan E. Morse
Studio	Relativity Media Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 18, 2009 (2009-12-18)
Running time	103 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$58 million[2]
Box office	$85,280,250[2]

Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Marc Lawrence. Golden Globe winners Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker portray the film's protagonists, Paul and Meryl Morgan, a recently separated New York power couple on the verge of divorce until they witness the murder of Meryl's client. They are forced to enter into temporary witness protection, given new identities, and relocated to a small Wyoming town (the fictional Ray, Wyoming, 45 minutes out of Cody). Supporting roles are played by Sam Elliott, Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Moss, and Wilford Brimley.

The film premiered in New York on December 14, 2009 and in London the following day. It was released to the United States on December 18 and to most of Europe in January 2010. It received mostly mediocre reviews from critics. Compiled ratings from the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an average rating of 3.5 out of 10. The film grossed $6,616,571 in its opening weekend and has earned $25,693,886 in the United States as of January 5, 2010. Did You Hear About the Morgans? was the 106th most successful film worldwide for 2009.

Plot

A successful Manhattan couple, lawyer Paul Michael Morgan (Hugh Grant) and real estate agent Meryl Judith Morgan (Sarah Jessica Parker) are separated because of Paul's infidelity. But they are thrust together when they witness a murder and become targets of a contract killer, Vincent (Michael Kelly).

Paul and Meryl are relocated to a small town in Wyoming, under the protective custody of a married couple (The Wheelers) who happen to be the local sheriff and deputy, and are permitted no outside contact via telephone or e-mail (for their own safety). They have trouble adjusting to small-town life, but after an unfortunate encounter with a bear, and bumbling attempts at shooting rifles, chopping wood, and horseback riding, they eventually adjust and begin assisting the local citizens professionally. Meanwhile, none of their coworkers in NY know their whereabouts and the killer has planted a bug at Meryl's office, and in her assistant's purse, hoping to gain information, which is eventually successful.

Paul and Meryl go on a "date" in town and begin to reconcile, but then Paul is alienated when he learns that Meryl had a one-night stand with one of their acquaintances after Paul and Meryl had separated. The next day, with the killer in town unbeknownst to them, the Morgans anticipate leaving Ray for a permanent hiding place. The Wheelers invite them to a rodeo, but the Morgans are quarreling so they decline. Leaving the Morgans without any form of security, the Wheelers leave for the rodeo. The killer tries to attack the house but is accosted by a bear, which gives the Morgans sufficient warning that they are able to escape, and they ride (double) on a horse to the rodeo to seek assistance. The killer follows them to the rodeo; they spot him and hide in a bull suit. However, they accidentally frighten a live bull into head-butting them. Meryl, unable to walk, stays hidden from the killer while Paul confronts him with a canister of bear repellant but accidentally sprays himself in the face and is rescued by the Wheelers and his new friends from the town.

Six months later, Paul and Meryl are still married having just adopted a baby girl from China, whom they name Rae (in honor of the Wyoming town), and Meryl is pregnant with a child of their own.

Production

Filming for Did You Hear About the Morgans took place over 25 days in May and June in 2009. The film was shot in New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Roy, New Mexico.^[3]

Reception

The film has received generally tepid reviews. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, reported that reviews were "generally unfavorable", with an average score of 26 based on 25 reviews.^[4] As of December 20, 2009, 12% of 116 critics listed by review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes had given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 3.4/10.^[5] Sarah Jessica Parker was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Actress for her performance.

Box office

In its first opening weekend, the film opened at #4 in the United States box office raking in $6,616,571. With a budget of $58 million, Did You Hear About the Morgans? grossed only $29.5 million domestically at the box office. It did a little better overseas with an additional $56 million to a total of $85 million worldwide.

Home media

Did You Hear About the Morgans? was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 16, 2010.^[6]

The DVD features:

• Audio commentary with director Lawrence, and stars Grant and Parker
• 5 featurettes
• Deleted scenes
• Outtakes

References

1. ^ "Did You Hear About the Morgans?". Variety.com. By John Anderson. 2009-12-15. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941786. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=grantparker09.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-26. 
3. ^ "Did You Hear About the Morgans?", Retrieved 2010-01-21
4. ^ "Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/didyouhearaboutthemorgans2009. Retrieved 2009-12-20. 
5. ^ "Did You Hear About the Morgans?". IGN Entertainment, Inc. Rotten Tomatoes. 2009-12-20. http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/1213718-did_you_hear_about_the_morgans/. 
6. ^ http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/did-you-hear-about-the-morgans.html

External links

• Official website
• Did You Hear About the Morgans? at the Internet Movie Database
• Did You Hear About the Morgans? at AllRovi
• Did You Hear About the Morgans? at Box Office Mojo
• Did You Hear About the Morgans? at Rotten Tomatoes
• Did You Hear About the Morgans? at Metacritic