Yes, we have seen the “spunky young woman succeeds against all odds in new job/town/situation and lands a hot boyfriend” plot play out countless times before, but thankfully Roger Michell’s Morning Glory does it rather well. It’s surprisingly smart, funny and very entertaining. Not only is this due to a cracking, intelligently written script by Aline “The Devil Wears Prada” McKenna, it’s also a real credit to leads Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton.
McAdams plays Becky Fuller, a driven, sincere, hardworking and recently fired morning television producer. She jumps at the chance to take the role of Executive Proder of Daybreak, a perpetually last-in-the-ratings morning show, hired by Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum, thankfully more rude and arrogant than quirky). The show is under-funded and under-staffed, anchored by Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) and a weirdo obsessed with feet and old-lady porn who Becky promptly fires. She then sets out to enlist the skills of veteran newsman – and “third-worst person in the world” – Mike Pomeroy, superbly portrayed by Harrison Ford. Becky’s task is to revitalise the show, rescue it from the bottom of the ratings pile, and she jumps into it with tenacity and zeal. We know that she’s going to succeed of course, but an intricate plot isn’t where the joy of this film comes from.
With impressive comedic timing, McAdams carries the film superbly. Her character Becky is a manic screwball, but never gratingly so (take note, Katherine Heigl). McAdams also has vital chemistry with Harrison Ford, who gives his best performance in years. Considering his most recent output includes gems such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Firewall, that’s hardly a difficult feat. Still, he’s pitch-perfect as the grizzly newsman Mike Pomeroy, disgusted with the state of modern television and what Becky would have him do. He doesn’t ham it up (as I’m sure other actors would have), nor does he inject an excessive amount of schmaltz during the scenes in which Mike’s tough exterior cracks.
Interestingly, despite Becky Fuller’s budding romance with fellow producer Adam (Patrick Wilson; gorgeous), the real love story in this film is between Fuller and Pomeroy. While Adam seems as if he could be quite interesting at first, his character sadly becomes relegated to the background as token love interest. The arc of Pomeroy and Fuller’s relationship is far more interesting and fully-formed. It’s a real pleasure watching the two interact, Ford’s glares and stunned double takes complementing McAdams’ more energetic flailing. Similarly, Diane Keaton also is a great match for Ford. She kisses frogs, she dances and she sumo wrestles. She’s a consummate television show-woman.
And that’s the other way in which Morning Glory succeeds; it gives us an entertaining view into the world of television, the people who work in it, and the relationships between them. The humour McKenna’s script is smart and driven by human nature — two qualities very few chick flicks of late have possessed. We may have seen it before, but we haven’t seen it this well done in a while. Morning Glory is fluffy alright, but it’s also delicious.
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