MORNING GLORY

Fired from her job as a producer on local morning breakfast show Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams), through her sheer pluck and determination, manages to score a better gig on the low rating, and nearing cancellation, Daybreak hosted by Colleen Peck (Dianne Keaton channelling KAK) and Paul McVee (Modern Family’s Ty Burrell). Becky finds herself in hot water when on the first day of the job she fires the sleazy Paul, leaving her a co-host short. Desperate to save her show, and her job, Becky blackmails out to pasture journalist Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) into becoming the new co-anchor, but can they survive working together and will it be enough to save the show? Oh and there is also a plotline about workaholic Becky finding love – but I’m going to give that as much attention as director Roger Michell did – that is not much.

As plucky producer Becky McAdams owns this movie, and she is given able support from Harrison Ford as the curmudgeonly set in his ways Pomeroy. It is their relationship that forms the main plot of Moring Glory as Becky tries to get Pomeroy to embrace infotainment style news of breakfast TV over the hard hitting journalism of yore. This isn’t the romantic comedy the trailers would have you believe, indeed Patrick Wilson as love interest Adam, doesn’t get to contribute much, and their union is devoid of any dramatic tension.

Diane Keaton is wasted in her role as the Colleen and while she does score some big laughs once she is allowed to get nutty on air, she is still far too underused. On the other hand Matt Malloy as resident weatherman Ernie Appleby manages to get the biggest laughs of the film with the smallest role, his reaction to a roller coaster ride is worth the price of admission alone.

McAdams might be able to juggle love and a job but I’m not sure screen writer Aline McKenna can convincingly juggle the comedy and drama elements in Morning Glory. Is it cutting satire, goofy comedy, or a romantic comedy with streaks of serious drama? In the end it’s a little bit of all of them, which doesn’t add up to a satisfying whole. The brightest parts of Morning Glory are the behind the scenes shenanigan’s of morning television and I can’t help but think if the movie had focused more on that it would have been stronger for it.

3 ½ of 5 Stars