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TagsWakeup call ...or how a spunky young woman breathes new life into an ailing morning TV show
BY NANCY R. MANDELL
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
MOVIE REVIEW
In the tradition of "His Girl Friday," "Working Girl," and most recently, "The Devil Wears Prada" comes "Morning Glory," a screwball comedy about an extremely likeable — if unlikely — young woman who makes her way to the top in the competitive marketplace of morning television.
This time around, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna — who turned "Prada" from a best seller into a hit movie — has created an original script that becomes a smart, funny vehicle for a "family" of top-notch actors who aren't afraid of playing second fiddle to Rachel McAdams, the relative newcomer who, in this role, finally distinguishes herself from a pack of pretty young things making entertainment TV news these days.
In fact there are some off-screen similarities to the on-screen relationship of Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford as the mismatched anchors of "Daybreak" — network TV's lowest-rated morning show — and McAdams as the dizzily determined Becky Fuller, an aspiring young TV producer who will do just about anything to get their ratings up. As good as these veterans are, their roles would fizzle without McAdams' contagious effervescence.Director Roger Michell, probably best known for "Notting Hill," keeps the action light as the camera flits through familiar Manhattan sites, but it's the clever wisecracks and the crackling delivery that give Morning Glory its sparkle.
SECOND OPINION:
Click here for Joe Tyrrell's review of "Morning Glory"
When we meet Becky, she is already the AP on a local New Jersey morning show. But when budget cuts cost her the job, she ends up scrambling to find her way out of the resume jungle with very little hope of success. Even her mother, with whom she lives, tries to convince her that 28 is too late to be chasing a childhood dream. And that's a pretty sad moment!
Despite an interview style that reeks of desperation and ADD, Becky does get the call she's waiting for, from cynical station head Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) who's already been told his morning show is on its way out and obviously feels he has nothing to lose by hiring this nutty overachiever.
Thanks to the debacle that is "Daybreak," it doesn't take long for Becky to earn the cooperation of its crew and cast — except for the sleazy male half of the co-anchor team. And when she unceremoniously fires him, she gets their respect as well.
The problem is, who can she find on such short notice to co-host the show with Diane Keaton as former beauty queen Colleen Peck, a TV personality who is happy to coast along on the soft side of TV news — namely crafts, cooking and shallow banter.
"Banter," however, is exactly what Mike Pomeroy — legendary network news anchor bitterly sitting out his network contract — abhors. So when Becky practically blackmails him into accepting the morning slot, Mike makes his displeasure known — on screen and off. After all, he hasn't won every major journalism award to end up "bantering" with a former Miss Arizona best known for undergoing an on-air pap smear!
He thinks even less of "Daybreak's" viewers, most of whom, he asserts "either lost the remote or are waiting for the nurse to turn them over."
But "Morning Glory" is no mystery, and as the title infers, this story is headed for a happy ending. On the way, expect some schmaltzy heart-to-hearts and an uplifting musical score with lyrics that tend to telegraph the story line. And oh yes, woven clumsily into the tale and much to her own astonishment, Becky finds romance with a fellow producer (Patrick Wilson of "Little Children" and the television serialization of "Angels in America") who's a real catch and supportive of her career to boot!
In the end, the candy corn seems a reasonable price to pay for a diverting hour-and-forty-two minutes spent in the company of talented performers who know how to deliver the laughs.
"Morning Glory" opened Friday, Nov. 12, at theaters just about everywhere.
