REVIEW: 'Morning Glory'

Comedy from the director of Notting Hill, about a hard-working TV producer (Rachel McAdams) who tries to revitalise her show by bringing on a cantankerous, old-school anchor (Harrison Ford). Also stars Diane Keaton. Now playing nationwide. Click here for session info.
--------------------------------------------------

Not to come off like the curmudgeonly newsman Harrison Ford plays here, but Morning Glory is the most lightweight take on serious topics for some time. The film circles the debate between news and entertainment without ever quite making a point; hints at modern career-women’s struggles with work/life balance but doesn’t suggest solutions beyond sex and haircuts; and makes matters worse by only spending as much time on Anchorman-like insults, hurled between news anchors, as it does on slow-mo shots of Rachel McAdams running in heels.

That’s not to suggest there were any expectations of hard-hitting stuff here, and these gripes would have been sidelined if Morning Glory held up its end with laughs, love, or perhaps even a plot. Sadly, there’s nothing here we haven’t seen done better before; the flick not helping Ford’s possibly terminal career slump and even managing to drain the appeal out of McAdams. Only Diane Keaton comes across as well-cast – though proof Jeff Goldblum lives is appreciated. Something’s just a bit off about the whole enterprise – not very surprising given the film’s delays and three credited editors (suggesting a fair bit of tinkering to get this in shape).

The film lurches from one scene to another without ever making much of an impression and, worst of all, takes about an hour to get Ford where we want him, grumpily on the telly beside Keaton. Never satisfactorily exploring its comedic or dramatic possibilities, Morning Glory is as insubstantial as the telly it tries to make fun of.

• Watch trailer for Morning Glory
• More on Morning Glory