johnlink ranks MORNING GLORY (2010)
This blog is not littered with too many comedies of this sort. Heck, it’s not littered with many comedies at all, but most of the comedies I’ve written about are more R-Rated fare which often dismisses any sort of reality. MORNING GLORY stars Rachel McAdams, who I love, and Harrison Ford, who I will watch any time. Still, this wasn’t on the top of my list to see, but Liz was really interested, so we put it in.
I watched MORNING GLORY (2010) on 4.19.12. It was my first viewing of the film.
I need to get out of my comfort zone and let Liz pick the movie more often. Not that I don’t let her pick, but we usually veto each other on several things before settling on a thriller, or an action flick, or a fantasy film. Last night I wasn’t in the mood for anything in particular, and certainly wasn’t excited about the prospect of watching a witless comedy, but thought ‘what the heck?’
Surprisingly, this ‘witless comedy’ turned out to be much more fun that most of the stuff I’ve been subjecting myself to over the past month. This is a story about a young executive producer trying to turn around a failing morning show on the fictional network IBS (get it?). She has two cantankerous anchors in Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton who could care less if they make their new boss’ life a living hell. A somewhat throw-away romance is also established between McAdams and fellow producer Patrick Wilson. These sections of the film are harmless enough, though they aren’t nearly as fun as the on-set stuff.
McAdams is in nearly every scene and is fully expected to drive the bus here. It helps to have passengers like Keaton and Ford and Jeff Goldblum (who plays her boss), but the movie is fully in her hands. She is exceedingly successful, making her Becky Fuller accessible, likable, and someone you want to root for.
So many comedies delight in negativity and mean-spiritedness. MORNING GLORY, while featuring some characters who are downright mean, never feels like it is cold-hearted. The joke is on Ford and Keaton, not on McAdams. And there is always enough light at the end of the tunnel, enough of a window into the hearts of these crabby apples, that you never feel hopeless. Instead, this is a movie filled with optimistic delight because McAdams continually puts her head down and plows ahead, not oblivious to life’s challenges, but unwilling to let them collapse her with their weight.
Nobody in this film would ever have been nominated for an Oscar, but it doesn’t mean the acting was poor. Ford is sort of playing into his stereotype of the guy who can be gruff and difficult, but who ultimately wins you over with a smile. Keaton has a ton of fun being the former beauty queen who tries to hang on to her dignity in her old age (until she ultimately embraces her fun side). And McAdams is just charming, charming, charming. The relationships between these three, but Ford and McAdams in particular, is just so effective, so filled with chemistry. If this was a TV show, I could watch these folks interact all day.
MORNING GLORY is not a film I would have pulled off the shelf myself. It is, however, one I will be dusting off to watch every so often from here on out. Oh, and lastly, I never thought I would see Diane Keaton attempting to dance and rap with 50 Cent, nor did I think that I would find such a thing wildly entertaining…
SCORES
FILM: 6; MOVIE: 9; ACTING: 7; WRITING: 8
6+9+7+8+0=30
FINAL SCORE: 7.5
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