Did You Hear About the Morgans? 2009

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Lawrence's recycled observations of the virtues of rural life, his struggles to find something funny about local "types" (an unworldly doctor and his naive-nitwit nurse), his "grizzly encounter" scene, are painful to watch. Read more

A.O. Scott, At the Movies: There's a scene where Hugh Grant confronts a grizzly bear and I've never rooted so hard for a predatory mammal. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: It's not just the sound of crickets you hear watching this movie. It's the sound of dead crickets. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: Mostly it's an invitation to spend an easy 108 minutes with some very likable folks (Grant, Sam Elliott, and Mary Steenburgen) as they amble through a laid-back fish-out-of-water comedy. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Toss this one on the ever-growing pile of failed Hollywood romantic comedies, and wish Grant and Parker better luck next time. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: There are countless moments throughout the film when writer-director Marc Lawrence pauses for a laugh line, but the jokes hang there for an eternity while Grant winces apologetically, like he's just shattered a dish. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Most bad comedies plod from scene to scene. This one plods from sentence to sentence. Grant and Parker stand around as if they're waiting for someone to yell, "Cut." Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Grant has never been less charming and Parker never less fashionable or more grating than they are as Paul and Meryl Morgan. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are assigned to a witness protection program, flown to Wyoming, and installed in a one-horse town where there are no bistros, art galleries, department stores, or funny jokes. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Yes, comedies thrive on broad strokes. But selling Americans lame images of one another as if we haven't traversed the country (if not in actuality, via television and film) is dispiriting. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Cliche-ridden, stereotype-stuffed and clunky at every inevitably false turn, it's so bad that star Hugh Grant, usually the most relaxed of actors, actually seems to be in pain throughout the film. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker ply their cute trademarks (his befuddled British grimace, her la-di-da New York sass) like grim, incompatible partners in a Hollywood business deal. Read more

Robert Wilonsky, L.A. Weekly: It's a thoroughly delightful throwaway -- the kind of movie for which cable TV was made. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are supposed to pass for a married couple, but they have all the chemistry of two actors who just met and shook hands moments before the cameras rolled. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: You know the line about what a bear does in the woods? Not only is that wittier than all of Did You Hear About the Morgans?, it describes the movie as well. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The cast is in such fine form that everything seems funny. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Did you hear about Did You Hear About the Morgans? Really, you don't want to. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: There's no sense of affection. No passion, even when they fight. Their dialogue rings hollow. These two aren't believable and their relationship is a black hole. Who cares? Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I grant you Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker evoke charm in the right screenplay. This is the wrong screenplay. Read more

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com: While it fails on nearly every conceivable level, as a textbook case in everything contemptible in the studio system, Did You Hear About the Morgans? is as good as it gets. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Sometimes it's unpleasant, sometimes it's insincere, and for long stretches it's boring. There are good parts, too, but they all come in the first 10 minutes. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A painful failure, lumpish and crude. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Did You Hear About the Morgans? has no room for surprises. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: If you are expecting a pleasant evening of escapism, you will be cruelly fooled. The editor responsible for the trailer is clearly a genius. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: It's a pity there's no witness protection program for movies that commit crimes against audiences. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The movie is like a car wreck in which no one is injured but the onlookers. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: This ultra-mild frolic follows the 'fish-out-of-water' comedy formula so closely its lack of surprise is almost, well, surprising. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: A fish-out-of-water story with a bit of a freshness issue. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: An exercise in foregone conclusions so dreary as to hardly qualify as comedy. Read more

Glenn Whipp, Associated Press: Did you hear about the Morgans? If so, you might wish you hadn't. Read more