Morning Glory

An energetic and entertaining comedy, Morning Glory follows ambitious television producer Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) as she successfully lands a gig at a failing morning show – with the film subsequently (and primarily) revolving around her efforts at turning the program around and handling the on-air talent (including Harrison Ford’s Mike Pomeroy). Filmmaker Roger Michell has infused Morning Glory‘s opening half hour with an almost astonishingly fast-paced sensibility that proves impossible to resist, as the movie’s inherently compelling workplace-comedy atmosphere is heightened by the charisma of the various performers. (In addition to Ford and McAdams’ stellar work, the film boasts appearances from scene-stealers like John Pankow, Jeff Goldblum, and Ty Burrell.) It is, as a result, slightly disappointing to note that Morning Glory inevitably (and undeniably) segues into an increasingly conventional romcom, with this feeling perpetuated by the ungainly inclusion of several chick-flick-type elements within the narrative (including Becky’s on-again-off-again relationship with Patrick Wilson’s Adam Bennett). The progressively uneven atmosphere is, for the most part, rather easy to overlook, however, as Michell, working from Aline Brosh McKenna’s screenplay, does a nice job of compensating for the movie’s lackluster elements by offering up a series of downright exhilarating scenes and sequences (eg Ford’s character heads out into the field to break a major news story). By the time the sentimental yet satisfying finale rolls around, Morning Glory has certainly established itself as a refreshingly breezy piece of work that should leave most viewers contented.

*** out of ****