Reviewed by: EMMA HUDSON
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“Morning Glory,” may be an ordinary romantic comedy, but its shining hope is in its star Rachel McAdams, who succeeds not only in her journalistic ambitions as Becky Fuller, but also in reviving the rather bland film.
When we first meet Becky she is working at “Good Morning, New Jersey!” a morning show so unpopular that it airs at three in the morning.
Budget cuts force the station to fire her and Becky suffers unemployment for a few brief seconds of screen time.
Her mother discourages her, telling Becky that her dream of producing the Today show is embarrassing and heartbreaking.
But, lucky for Becky that she’s in a romantic comedy, she lands a job almost immediately at as the executive producer for the struggling “Daybreak” morning show.
Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), an ex-beauty queen, and Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), an ex-evening news host, anchor “Daybreak.” One of the film’s major problems is that it relies too heavily on the two-dimensional tension between Keaton’s and Ford’s characters.
Will they get along long enough to make “Daybreak” a hit? Of course they will, but apparently the filmmakers are the only ones who didn’t know that immediately.
Ford plays the gruff journalist-turned-drunkard convincingly and Keaton plays…well, she plays the same character she’s played for the past seven years: one who’s flighty and a little kooky, but a tough working girl beneath it all.
The screenplay, by “The Devil Wears Prada” writer Aline Brosh McKenna, has a few genuinely funny moments, but most of them are immediately undercut by sappy, cringe-worthy montages.
See Becky sit and smile thoughtfully as her staff gets along!
See Becky run in slow motion through NYC streets!
The eye-rolling during these scenes is practically impulsive.
There is a typically forgettable romantic interest, but he’s so unoriginal that I can’t even remember the guy’s name.
He accepts Becky’s quirks—isn’t it adorable that she’s a woman and she has ambition?—and so we, the audience, are supposed to immediately believe that this bland man is Mr. Right.
Never mind that the only hint of a personality the filmmakers have given him suggests he’s a bore and a player.
Becky—and Rachel McAdams, for that matter—can do much, much better.
It is a testament to McAdams’ charm and likeability that you walk away from “Morning Glory” somewhat satisfied.
Sub in Kristin Bell and you have yet another execrable rom-com.
McAdams saves the film, injecting it with wit, life and general geniality.
“Morning Glory,” like almost every other romantic comedy in recent memory, is boring and mediocre.
With the exception of McAdams, the film never rises past its unoriginal plot.