Morning Glory
Did you know Angela Lansbury, icon of stage and screen, is the second-worst person in the world? She's apparently right behind Kim Jong-il but ahead of Mike Pomeroy, the curmudgeonly news anchor Harrison Ford plays in Morning Glory.
So Roger Michell's lighthearted ensemble comedy educates as it entertains. And why wouldn't it? This hopeful modern fairy tale follows a determined twentysomething as she earns her stripes at a low-rated morning news program. Tidbits of trivia are not only appreciated, they are savored. Sure, a Lansbury cameo could have stolen the show. But that would qualify as unpredictable, and Michell's never interested in straying too far from his film's designated comfort zone.
Those safe story boundaries are established by screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, who also penned The Devil Wears Prada and effortlessly shifts that film's chirpy-underdog-to-a-hellacious-older-boss life lessons from the fashion industry to the world of early bird mass communications.
In for Prada's Anne Hathaway is perky Rachel McAdams, whose character, Becky, joins the ranks of the unemployed after her producing position at a New Jersey TV station is downsized. Before you can pop in your The Secret of My Success DVD, Becky convinces an aloof Manhattan television exec (Jeff Goldblum) to hire her on as head producer for "Daybreak," the low-rated morning program that's constantly eating the dust kicked up by "The Today Show" and "Good Morning, America." Becky's plan for turning the program around? Pair current "Daybreak" host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) with disgruntled former news hound Pomeroy and hope their contentious chemistry ignites the ratings.
The Keaton-Ford combination does give Glory a jolt, particularly when the latter is allowed to dust off his impeccable comedic timing (which, for whatever reason, has mostly gone untapped outside of Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones series). To be honest, though, the production bounces along nicely at its own rhythms even when the veterans are off screen. McAdams's tireless, can-do enthusiasm provides more than enough gas to keep this engine humming, and McKenna assists her with a witty, semi-intelligent script that addresses our horrid job market, the obstacles women confront when they place a career ahead of their personal lives, and the need for daytime television talk shows to balance "sugar" (pop-culture-soaked entertainment) with "bran" (hard news).
Morning Glory strives for a similar balance, as well, and largely achieves it. Michell applies a slick sheen to McKenna's conventional story, and the entire crew -- both behind the camera and in front of it -- delivers what is asked of them. In short, Morning Glory defines "mainstream" cinema, the kind of safe, palatable film you could recommend to someone who has complained that Hollywood (for better or worse) doesn't make them like they used to.
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