A hard-working young woman in the New York City goes up against a living legend. With all her merits, she overcomes numerous obstacles in order to build a successful career and find the right man to say "yes" to.
No, I'm not talking about "The Devil Wears Prada," but the new American comedy flick, "Morning Glory," starring Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford. It's not so surprising there's a resemblance when you find that the two movies share the same writer, Aline Brosh McKenna, although the working background is switched from the snobbish fashion field to the grueling TV industry.
Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is the producer of a local morning news show in New Jersey. Diligent, passionate and persistent, but Becky is unexpectedly dismissed when the company enacts cutbacks.
Stumbling into a new job at "Daybreak," the last-place network morning news program, Becky is determined to save the show from cancellation. The strategy of the new-in-office producer is to resurrect the current crew and to invite legendary news anchor, Mike Pomeroy(Harrison Ford) onboard.
Like many news men of the old generation in the States, Mike detests celebrity gossip, fashion, crafts and cooking, which make up most of a morning news show. Carrying along with his pride and aversion to the job, he is forced to sit in on "Daybreak," since Becky finds he hasn't finished the contract with the network yet.
At this point, you feel that director Roger Michel will engage in a little bit of exploration of so-called "infotainment" or examine the rapid decline of old-school serious news format. But it stays on the surface and never goes any deeper into such a debate that has been going on in the American press. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. The director knows what a comedy should offer and what viewers expect for in a workplace flick. A lot of laughter goes around and banters sound amusing. Sure, it's not deep but you can be happily carried along for 100 minutes.
The upbeat workaholic spirit sustains the entire story but a love affair, even though it appears lame and uncalled-for at times, adds a human touch. It seems to tell those who find it hard to strike a balance between life and career: you work hard and then money and love would show up in the corner. What a spiritual opium! Who would have to refuse a beautiful daydream like that in a movie?
On my 1-to-10 movie scale, I give "Morning Glory" a SEVEN.
