Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams, The Notebook) was just “let go” from her dream job at the less-than-glorious morning show Good Morning, New Jersey. Producing morning television is her only passion. She obsesses over it. And it because that’s what drives her, it is the only think she has in her life. Friends, romance, family – those all rest on the back burner. So when Becky loses the only thing she has got, she is forced to look for another show to run like a lover on the rebound.
Eager to get back to work, Becky takes the first job she can get – executive producer of the #4 morning show in New York City, Daybreak. Behind Good Morning America, The Today Show and “that thing CBS does,” Daybreak is a joke. As Becky puts it, Daybreak is a “(crappy) show that needs what (she) needs: someone to believe in it.”
Knowing its low value, Becky puts her all into making Daybreak quality entertainment worth watching. Her first order of business is firing the male anchor (Ty Burrell, Modern Family) for being an arrogant, cocky sexist. Using his contract against him, Becky bullies award-winning evening news anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones) into filling the male anchor role along side diva co-host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton, Somethings Gotta Give). Becky must now get the bullheaded talent to play along and get Daybreak‘s ratings up in order to prove her worth to the network.
With a script as good as Morning Glory‘s, a great cast is required to compliment it. McAdams gives all as Becky. You never want to stop watching her, even in her neurotic panic attacks. And her interactions with Keaton, Ford and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as a network executive are awesome. The negative chemistry between Keaton and Ford add a priceless comedic element that is perfectly used to the film’s advantage.
Although Morning Glory turns towards the predictable in the end, it is still refreshingly entertaining nonetheless. Fun and lightweight little movies like this don’t come along often, so take advantage of it and be sure to see Morning Glory.
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
