Morning Glory

Morning Glory is one of those films where the plot is so obvious you don’t watch it to see what happens, more how it happens. In this particular example we have Becky (Rachel McAdams), a recently sacked producer of a small time breakfast TV show, finding a new job producing a similar show but on a majorish network in New York. However, her new boss (Jeff Goldblum) informs her that the show is due to be cancelled unless the ratings improve. Well, can you guess what happens? As this isn’t a film by Andrey Tarkovskiy, you probably can. The director in question is actually Roger Michell, and being the safe pair of hands that he is, we glide through the film with all the usual standards intact. To be fair to McAdams though, she doesn’t coast through this and is convincing as the determined career woman putting all her effort into proving she can be a success. Becky's masterstroke is to force respected news anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) to present the show. Ford appears to have fun with the character of Pomeroy, grumpy as the day is long whilst trading snippy and amusing one liners with a fellow anchor played by Diane Keaton. Having said that Keaton, (and Goldblum) are the weaker links of the film, both seemingly unsure of how to play their characters. Keaton’s opening scene has her of somewhat of a primadonna, but before long she seems game for anything. Goldblum is so laid back his scenes appear to be from rehearsals. Meanwhile Patrick Wilson is wasted in a pointless romantic subplot. This is McAdams and Ford’s film though and they generate most of the laughs. In the end though, is director Michell having the biggest joke of all? The title itself is slang that would raise a few titters amongst his British brethren and squeezing the radio network name (IBS) that Becky works for past the suits at Paramount leaves you with an image of Michell walking off into the distance with a cheque in his top pocket and a cheeky grin on his face.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Pretty dumb stuff, but it's innocent enough and the cast seem game. Rating: 6/10