Morning Glory is an often misguided comedy focused around the inner workings – or rather, failings – of Daybreak, a struggling morning television show. Hired as executive producer, the neurosis-filled workaholic Becky (Rachel McAdams) has to up the ratings while keeping her warring co-hosts from killing each other on air. A mess of rapid-fire babbling, wildly flailing hand gestures and a sunny can-do attitude that just won’t quit, McAdams brings such an endearing perkiness to her character that it’s impossible not to love her.
Her job, however, is a little more controversial. As ratings plummet, Becky despairs that her idol, Pulitzer Prize-winning curmudgeon Mike Pomeroy (a devilishly caustic Harrison Ford) refuses to get on board and Sumo wrestle on air unlike his veteran co-host (a spunky yet caricatured Diane Keaton.) The constant bickering between the three solid leads is entertaining, but the focus on low-brow entertainment is hardly inspiring, and the grumpy father/daughter dynamic between Ford and McAdams results in too many awkwardly melodramatic emotional epiphanies.
But though a questionable insight into TV production, director Roger Mitchell and the great cast bring so much energy and humour to Morning Glory that it becomes an enjoyable, if completely unaffecting, piece of escapist fluff - just like good breakfast television.