Morning Glory (***)
Directed by: Roger Michell
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson,
John Pankow, Jeff Goldblum, Ty Burrell
Seen: February 26th 2011
*** Out of ****
Becky Fuller (McAdams) is a hard-working young producer working day
& night in her industry, morning television. Morning Glory starts with her
friends helping her count chickens before they’ve hatched, and her supposed
promotion to senior producer turns into a lay-off as the studio can’t afford
her and the new hotshot. Her mother tells her to stop while it’s only
embarrassing and before it becomes sad, but Becky sends her resume everywhere. After
some disappointment, she gets a call from a national show by the name of
DayBreak. They need a new producer as they rapidly run through them in failed
attempts to get above the number four rated morning show, most notably being
beaten out of top spot by the Today Show.
When the first meeting starts off, things look bad for Becky. This
turns out to be only momentary, as she gets on and starts running in the blink
of an eye, much to everyone’s surprise. She fires the smug co-host, Paul McVee
(Burrell, playing possibly a bigger idiot than his Phill Dunphy in Modern
Family), on her first day, and while this move gets universal acclaim at the
show, it leaves her in a bit of a pickle. She has to find a new co-host on a
massively limited budget, as Colleen Peck (Keaton), however good she is, cannot
host the show alone. A grand idea strikes Becky, and soon enough she has the
legendary Mike Pomeroy (Ford) on board. Mike isn’t there of his own free will
however, as he is basically on retainer for the network, and stands to lose a
lot of money if he doesn’t accept the job. He also doesn’t make it easy on the
crew, as he is supposed to be a celebrated news anchor, and since morning news
is not news (in his opinion), it will ruin his reputation.
Becky has her hands full keeping Mike happy, or actually getting him
to cooperate at all; and his antics doesn’t do wonders for the rest of the crew’s
morale. As this struggle goes on Becky must also get their ratings up enough, in
a limited time of course, for DayBreak to not be cancelled. Along the way Becky
meets Adam (Wilson), another IBS producer, with whom she starts a sweet
relationship, but Adam must compete with Becky’s job for affection and/or
attention, and it is here that the movie also makes special mention of the
dangers of a life lived for only work and nothing else.
Morning Glory is fluffy entertainment, great fun, and at times really
funny. The humour isn’t forced and comes from the characters’ nature. Rachel
McAdams is gorgeous as always, even when she almost lets work ruin her life.
Harrison Ford is an amusing old-timer and brings some of the most heartfelt
moments to life. Diane Keaton is entertaining but slightly side-tracked, and
with Patrick Wilson, she just supports the two main leads. John Pankow is great
fun as the show’s senior producer with a sense of humour, and Jeff Goldblum is
oddly perfunctory as the network executive that tasks Becky with upping the
ratings. Morning Glory is a sweet and funny movie that anyone can enjoy that
doesn’t take itself too seriously, which gets my vote without too much trouble.
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