Actor Spotlight: Morning Glory

Closing out our actor spotlight of Harrison Ford, I was able to catch his latest but  far from greatest new release of Morning Glory. Director Roger Mitchell (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes) brings us the latest rom-com type movie. Taking a bit of 1987′s Broadcast News then throwing in some different aspects Mitchell shows us the life of a workaholic television show producer.

Rachel McAdams heads this cast as Becky Fuller, a young ambitious television producer who puts work first and her love life a distant second. Foreshadowing on what’s to come, we first see her on a blind date that she can’t seem to focus away from work enough to even get the food order in before it ends due to a work related phone call. In the next scene we see her anxiously awaiting a promotion to only get let go from her current gig. Shortly after that is when Jerry Barnes, Jeff Goldblum, calls to offer her a job at the worst morning show on air.

With big intentions of turning the show around comes obstacles. From her boss demanding results to the staff she has to deal with it comes as no easy task. Making waves her first day, she fires one of the co-anchors and immediately starts her search for a replacement. Entering from stage right, Harrison Ford as the legendary Mike Pomeroy.

Coming across as an extreme grouch Ford portrays Pomeroy as a conceded hard ass. Personally I felt Ford put as much effort into this role as he needed to collect a paycheck. I never felt wowed by his performance at any time minus maybe a scene or two with fellow conceded hard ass Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). Truth be told, except for a real good comic relief role by Matt Malloy as the weatherman Ernie Appleby who goes to extremes for ratings, most of the acting was pretty weak. The chemistry between McAdams and her on-screen love interest, Patrick Wilson, was as electrifying as much as a AAA battery. Meaning it gets the job done but is weak as can be.

Overall with a predictable ending you saw coming as early as the first 25 minutes of the film, I felt Morning Glory is just not worth the admission price. It wasn’t the worst film I’ve seen this year but I still would say wait for dvd maybe even cable.

About these ads