movie review
Morning Glory
Rachel McAdams makes good with adorable film
If there’s any doubt that Rachel McAdams can carry a movie, now it’s official. She can. With her good looks and expressive face, she reminds me of a young Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman.’ McAdams has mostly done dramatic roles, like ‘The Notebook’ and ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife,’ so it’s fun to see her in a light-hearted comedy.
In ‘Morning Glory,’ she plays hard–working TV producer Becky Fuller, who gets fired from a local news program but manages to score a job at ‘Daybreak,’ the last–place morning news show. The show needs help, so she decides to revitalize it by firing egotistical co-host Paul McVee (Ty Burrell) and hiring legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford).
Mike’s none too keen about covering morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts, let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). She’s a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who’s more than happy to cover the “news.”
As Mike and Colleen clash, Becky’s new romance with producer Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson) takes off, then starts to unravel.
Here’s the thing. Sometimes it’s nice to just go to a movie to be entertained and not get all bummed out about the people on the screen. That’s what’s great about a movie like ‘Morning Glory.’ It’s fluffy, not intense.
Also, Rachel McAdams is adorable, and she does the hopeful, eager-puppy character really well. Ok, I was somewhat annoyed that she runs EVERYwhere in this movie – running to and fro, from office to office, to the ferry, through lobbies, down the street, and on and on. And nearly all of her running is done in high heels, so kudos to her.
Keaton does an admirable job as the longtime morning talk show host, but my main complaint with the movie falls on Harrison Ford. I get that he’s supposed to be the grumpy, veteran hard-news reporter, but he took it a notch too far and became a caricature rather than a believable character – especially since his voice rivals Clint Eastwood’s snarl in ‘Gran Torino.’ Veteran reporter or not, who’d want to listen to that on the nightly news every night?
Overall, though, ‘Morning Glory’ is a fun movie that doesn’t require too much thought. We need those once in a while.
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