Morning Glory (2010 film)
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Morning Glory is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. It stars Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum. After some delays, the film was released in the United States on November 10, 2010 and abroad in 2011. It received mixed reviews and had moderate success at the box office. The theme song of the film is "Strip Me" by Natasha Bedingfield.
Plot
Aspiring news producer Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) has dreamed since childhood of working for the Today show, but her dedication to her career is off-putting to potential suitors. After being laid off from her job at the local Good Morning New Jersey, her mother advises her to give up her dream before it becomes an embarrassment. However, Becky perseveres, sending many different résumés out. She finally receives a call from IBS, which is looking for a producer on its struggling national morning show, DayBreak.
After a discouraging job interview with Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum), who dismisses both her and DayBreak as also-rans, Becky bumps into one of her heroes, veteran television journalist Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) in an elevator. She is brushed off rudely, but is told by the other passenger that this is typical of Mike's behavior.
Seemingly against his better judgement, Barnes hires Becky to be DayBreak's executive producer. On her first day, Becky realizes she has signed on to a show in turmoil, lacking in direction and money. After meeting the acerbic but long-suffering co-host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), who predicts Becky's demise, she fires the conceited co-host Paul McVee (Ty Burrell), much to the delight of her co-workers. She chooses a reluctant Pomeroy as her new co-host. Pomeroy is under contract to IBS, but has managed to mostly escape being utilized while still getting paid. Becky finds a clause in his contract by which he is obliged to accept an official job offer or lose his salary, effectively blackmailing him into accepting the position.
Becky gets to know Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson), another IBS producer who had worked with Mike previously. After initially teaming up to deal with Mike, they begin dating, and he is initially supportive of her dedication to her job. Pomeroy proves to be hard going, throwing his weight about, trying to sabotage his debut on the show by getting drunk, refusing to banter with Colleen on air, and ensuring he only does serious news stories by making use of a clause in his contract that allows him to refuse certain assignments, like cooking segments, that he considers beneath him. As ratings begin to drop, Becky is told that DayBreak may be canceled.
After a heated confrontation with Pomeroy, Becky snaps and decides on a radical approach to save the show. She improves ratings by persuading Ernie (Matt Malloy) to do the weather while doing stunts, such as riding a new Six Flags roller coaster. Colleen also expresses a keen interest in Becky's campaign to rejuvenate the show, and appears on a number of colorful segments that help the show's ratings. Barnes remains unconvinced that Becky can get the ratings up enough to stave off cancellation.
Adam, not realizing what is on the line, teases Becky about how caught up she is in improving the ratings, but she sees it as a criticism that she has heard from previous men, and walks out. Pomeroy tells her that he was once the same way, but ended up with no life outside of work.
During a staff meeting, Pomeroy shows interest in doing a story, surprising colleagues. Becky goes along but realizes that he is going to the governor's summer house instead of the destination she expected. Pomeroy ends up confronting the governor on charges of racketeering, and breaks the story of his arrest on live television. This increases DayBreakTemplate:'s ratings enough to secure another year for the show.
Due to DayBreakTemplate:'s rise in popularity, Becky receives a job interview from Today. During the interview, DayBreak is on. Between segments, Colleen tells Pomeroy about the interview, and that his refusal to adapt has driven Becky away. He goes to the kitchen where food segments are done. Becky watches in shock as Pomeroy tells the viewers how to make a good frittata. Becky runs back to the set and decides to remain at DayBreak.
Cast
- Rachel McAdams as Becky Fuller: the new executive producer of DayBreak, the fourteenth in eleven years, challenged with improving the show's ratings.
- Harrison Ford as Mike Pomeroy: a serious news journalist and anchor who has worked in television for over forty years. He is unhappy at having to co-host a show that does not deal with real news stories.
- Diane Keaton as Colleen Peck: the host of DayBreak for the past eleven years, in which time she has gone through several co-hosts and executive producers.
- Patrick Wilson as Adam Bennett: another producer at IBS, who begins dating Becky. He shows frustration at her unwillingness to take some time away from her job.
- John Pankow as Lenny Bergman: the long-term senior producer of the show.
- Jeff Goldblum as Jerry Barnes: a network executive, he tasks Becky with turning the show's ratings around.
- Ty Burrell as Paul McVee: the co-host of the show at the beginning of the film. Becky immediately fires him because of his negative effect on staff morale.
- Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo as themselves.
- Chris Matthews, Morley Safer, Jonathan Bennett, Bob Schieffer, and Elaine Kaufman make cameo appearances.
