Thursday, March 31, 2011

Morning Glory

A plucky and ambitious television producer finally achieves her dreams of landing a job at a major network-on the lowest rated morning show in the country. In order to turn the disastrous show around, she finds a way to hire a respectable yet forgotten anchor by way of a contract loophole. Now she must find a way to make the cantankerous newsman get along with his equally high maintenance coanchor, while trying to get him to participate in the fluffy stories which attract viewers and hold absolutely no appeal to him. Morning Glory is a little gem from last year that flew under the radar. It is one of the best kind of films to experience, in that it is a movie I was wholeheartedly not expecting to enjoy, watched it anyway, and found myself having a great time. Foremost is Rachel McAdams who is delightful in the lead and brings so much energy to the role which attracts the viewers and makes you feel her plight. Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton are riotous as the lead anchors, and their scenes together at the news desk, where the two's news proclivities clash are downright hilarious. It is especially nice to see these two actors, especially Ford who hasn't had a good role in awhile, settle into parts that fit like a glove. The film does have a tendency to get as light as some of the stories as the movies morning news show, and their is a superfluous romance between McAdams and another producer (played by the always reliable Patrick Wilson) Still Morning Glory is a wonderful movie that even manages to make a few statements on respectable journalism vs. sensationalism while all the while serves as a surprising treat of a film.