I think I was hoping for a 3 star film; that the combination of multiple good actors would be winning, but all the older stars were sidelined for what was essentially a love story between Rachel McAdams and Patrick Wilson whose relationship was riddled with multiple non-conflicts. Sigh.
… and so a new category was born, Three Star Rom-Coms, wherein I continually pursue that slightly better than ho-hum rom-com that I can watch, go “awwwwww” at every now and again, without it straining credulity or having someone run after something at the end (why? why?). Naturally, Morning Glory features McAdams racing across town in its closing moments, which does nothing to raise it above the mediocrity it’s sunk into by that point.
So what was Morning Glory? McAdams is hired by Jeff Goldblum (who should be in far better films) to work on the piece of crap morning show Daybreak. McAdams goes on to hire Harrison Ford (has he stared in anything worthwhile since What Lies Beneath?) who plays an old slightly drunken news anchor (PG certificate drunkenness, no pissed pants or vomit on his tie) who has a problem with the morning, variety show, format. He bitches and moans at co-anchor Diane Keaton (how the mighty have fallen) who throws herself into ridiculous scenarios in order to boost ratings. She’s onboard, will Harrison lighten up enough to save the show? Why do you think McAdams is running at the end?
There are some perfectly fine moments, like Harrison’s promo for the show, full of purposeful walking, smoldering looks, pan to Ford; “What’s in the suitcase? Where am I going? I look like a jackass” or Matt Malloy’s bore being put through Fear Factor style tests of endurance through which he screams continuously. Unfortunately the underlying idea that, in the modern world, its a race for the bottom and McAdams is a sprinter who is dragging everyone down with her (and up in the ratings) isn’t particularly inspiring, and the idea that we should be routing for the one man with any backbone in the industry to have a live colonoscopy on air is funny, but not exactly uplifting.
As mentioned above, however, the real failing is focusing so much on the love affair between McAdams and Wilson, both of whom should have no trouble falling in love with each other, even though their jobs are demanding, but instead of showing any real connection between them McAdams just proceeds to fall over every now and again, therefore looking “cute” while Wilson moans about McAdams being too attached to her job as if being a motivated and engaged woman is somehow a negative to a fellow aspiring producer. Sigh indeed.
Naturally it’s not a great rom-com, no one is foolish enough to expect that, but we want three stars, we want average, we want something we can switch off too, be given a happy ending, then drift off to sleep, and this, this doesn’t quite deliver. The comedy is there, every so often, the redemptive arc is there, skinny, lacking depth, but with Ford’s face, and yet the romantic aspect never gets off the ground, it’s not given enough time grow, to latch on to the old heart strings. Not a success. Not quite three stars.
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