Sometimes film stars may be worth the ridiculous fees that they command, as rom-com Morning Glory proves. Although from the same screenwriter, and covering similar ground, as the surprisingly sprightly The Devil Wears Prada, and directed by Roger Michell, who has proved his sure hand with rom-coms in Notting Hill, Morning Glory’s small victories are largely down to its cast.
Morning Glory transposes The Devil Wears Prada’s career vs. romance plot to the world of broadcast news, with Rachel McAdams filling the Anne Hathaway role as the adorably plucky Becky who lands her dream job in the big city, only to find that it’s not all it cracked up to be. Facing falling ratings, a disinterested network executive (Jeff Goldblum) and a collection of anchors who are either difficult (Diane Keaton), disgusting (Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, who sadly barely features) or downright snobbish (Harrison Ford), Becky has her work cut out to prove herself. But it’s not all bad news – despite arguably being under-qualified she’s given free rein to overhaul the show, and there’s the small matter of the hunky colleague (Patrick Wilson) who takes an interest in her.
Covering any more plot details would be something of a waste of time, as not only is this a well-trod path, but the film itself doesn’t even try to hide it, or the outcome, which, on the plus side means that we don’t have to suffer through the usual contrivances rom-coms pull in order to create tension. Instead Michell tries to create tension towards the end of the film by shooting much of the action with dutch angles – there are so many that it makes you wonder if the cameraman lost a leg during filming.
Considering that the script is less full of incident, romance and humour than it really should be, and the film’s unsettling moral (McAdams and Ford’s head-butting essentially comes down to the argument of whether news should inform or entertain, and there’s no prizes for guessing which side wins), the fact that Morning Glory does manage to have some charm is down to McAdams’ perky presence, and the assured support of a veteran cast, who really are above such things.
