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Harrison Ford has been saying for years he’d like to do more comedies.  The aging action hero has proven he can still command the big screen in adventure fare, but audiences have yet to see him tackle a straightforward comedy with any great success… at least not since 1988’s WORKING GIRL.  In the new Roger Michell (of NOTTING HILL fame) ensemble piece MORNING GLORY, Ford joins capable actors and actresses like Rachel McAdams (THE NOTEBOOK), Diane Keaton (SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE), Patrick Wilson (WATCHMEN) and Jeff Goldblum (THE SWITCH), in a story about a dying morning news show (think a less-creative version of The Today Show on a tighter budget) and the network’s lack of faith in things ever improving.

Becky (McAdams) is a news show producer in New Jersey, freshly laid off from her job, and forced into begging for work anywhere she can find it.  Her mom (Patti D’Arbanville) is less than supportive, feeling that her single daughter is quickly approaching an age where her dreams and aspirations are bordering on pathetic.  A New York-based network manager named Jerry Barnes (Goldblum) decides to give Becky a shot, taking over as Executive Producer to his morning news program called Daybreak.  The show is dwindling as fourth in the ratings behind other more popular morning news programs, with NBC’s Today holding the #1 spot.  Becky quickly sees that not only is the show likely doomed, but many who work on it have pretty much given up on any hope of it ever getting better.  The hosts are former beauty queen Colleen Peck (Keaton) and the overly-pompous and somewhat sexually demented Paul McVee (MODERN FAMILY‘s Ty Burrell).  In an effort to shake things up, and boost morale, Becky fires Paul – a decision that gains her respect from the staff, and doubt from Jerry Barnes.  In a rather unexpected move, she enlists grizzled former news legend Mike Pomeroy (Ford) to take over the now vacant co-anchor position, the idea being that his gravitas and viewer respect could give Daybreak a much-needed shot in the arm.  But according to Becky’s newfound network friend and potentially romantic prospect Adam Bennett (Wilson), Pomeroy will never soften up, and will be nothing but a nightmare for her to work with.  When Becky becomes aware that the network has Daybreak on a countdown to cancellation, she must find some creative ways to breathe new life into an dying program, despite everyone around her being filled with doubt.

A movie like MORNING GLORY isn’t exactly what you’d call unpredictable fare, so much so that you can probably guess the exact turn of events long before they play out on screen.  But it does succeed in being light-hearted entertainment, complimented by a strong cast and rather amusing character exchanges.  Rachel McAdams proves she can play a likable leading lady with admirable comedic timing.  She mixes the right elements of cute clumsiness with decided determination.  When going toe to toe with actors like Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford, you better be able to bring something strong to the table, and McAdams does.  Ford is perhaps the most impressive of the performers here, never afraid to show his age, and exhibiting quiet moments of vulnerability that will make even the most hardened viewers a little misty-eyed.  His grumpy personality garners lots of laughs, and creates a strong foil for the mostly optimistic McAdams.  In many ways, he’s the straight man in a comedic piece, but he does it extremely well, and commands much more of the screen time than most might expect.  Diane Keaton is perhaps the only real weak point of the film, not because of her acting (which in this reviewer’s opinion is almost always great) but because she is sadly underused and underdeveloped as a character.  Her Kathie Lee Gifford-ish role had so much potential for depth, though in the end she’s used too sparingly, and mainly just to butt heads with Ford during the news scenes.  The idea of a former beauty queen hosting a failing morning news show, and trying desperately to hold on to her dignity – that’s writing gold, and it’s sadly ignored.  Patrick Wilson does a fine job as the sympathetic love interest to McAdams, but even his character feels lightly developed, and only really there as a plot device to enhance Rachel’s role.  Jeff Goldblum’s performance is also (sadly) fairly matter of fact, never giving him a chance to truly shine.  There are some nice supporting characters, such as Becky’s highly-likable in-studio advisor Lenny (played by John Pankow of MAD ABOUT YOU fame), and the ditzy Daybreak contributing anchor Lisa (played by J. Elaine Marcos).  I also liked seeing the great character actor Matt Malloy as the constantly tortured weatherman Ernie Appleby, who becomes the Daybreak punching bag for viewer-boosting segments.  But make no mistake, this movie belongs to McAdams and Ford, so much so that it should have just been the two of them on the poster campaigns.  Both actors give strong career performances, likely to please audiences, and solidify them in the eyes of Hollywood as capable comedic thespians.

Director Roger Michell does a nice job handling the story, which is written by Aline Brosh McKenna, but clearly realized the strengths were held with Ford and McAdams, and therefore focuses his camera on them for the majority of the film.  J.J. Abrams (LOST, the new STAR TREK) is one of the producers behind this project, which pulls back the curtain a bit on network news shows, particularly morning news programs.  Knowing what I know about the editing rooms of these types of shows, I almost felt like the script could have spent even more time with the behind-the-scenes aspects of the story.  In the end, MORNING GLORY is part romantic comedy, and part “small town girl hits the big time” tale.  It never clearly defines itself in any one genre, but plays as entertaining cinema through and through.  While many will call it predictable, I found it to be fun and satisfying.  Not a perfect movie by any means, but nevertheless a good time.

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