► Morning Glory | C

Roger Michell's Morning Glory starts off as a promising romantic comedy but manages to lose flavor throughout the film's progression. The cast of popular and acclaimed veteran actors give the movie much potential, but ultimately Morning Glory falls in to the vast pool of unoriginal, "We've seen it before" romantic comedies and is anything but glorious.

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams, Sherlock Holmes) is a sweet, workaholic news producer for a local morning show. After being fired she fervently searches for jobs and is eventually hired by Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum, The Fly) the head of a struggling, big-time morning news show called DayBreak. She settles in quickly and almost immediately wins the admiration of her co-workers, including weary, long-time veteran anchor Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). In hopes of boosting the show's ratings, Becky fires the cocky head anchor, and replaces him with legendary reporter Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). Pomeroy unwillingly takes the job because of a clause in his contract. All hell ensues after that, as Becky must handle her bickering anchors and manage a resentful Pomeroy, all while balancing her budding romance with co-worker Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson, Watchmen).

One would expect a film starring Ford and Keaton to immediately have a certain level of depth, regardless of the genre. Unfortunately, Morning Glory fails to captivate, despite having the makings of a good movie. It tries to be clever, by having a witty back and forth between the main characters, but it is evident that there is no essence behind it, and the interactions are dry to say the least. The humor is cute in certain scenes, but, for the most part, only brings about a few weak chuckles. Because of the poor character development, the ending was unsatisfying and quite underwhelming.

Morning Glory doesn't completely fail as a film due to strong acting on the part of McAdams and Ford. McAdams' ability to decompose her character's personality is praiseworthy, and she acts as the glue keeping the film together. She gives her character a very likeable charm, allowing the audience to relate with her. Ford's performance as the esteemed Pomeroy was notable because he was able to transform himself into the persona of Mike Pomeroy, while still staying within his acting scope. Still, one would have hoped for more from Keaton. Her enactment felt plastic, and, aside from a few exchanged insults, there wasn't much communication between her and Ford's character.

Don't see Morning Glory if you are expecting a heartwarming comedy at the level of When Harry Met Sally or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. This film unenthusiastically fails to live up to its prospective. Morning Glory is the sort of picture that you watch after a long day of work, when there is nothing better on television, and you just need something light to fall asleep to.