Tonight's Movie: Morning Glory (2010)

After seeing UNSTOPPABLE this afternoon, we immediately watched MORNING GLORY, a fun movie about a last-place early morning news show.

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is a young TV producer who has been downsized out of her previous job. She's hired by Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) to produce a perennial fourth-place morning show, where she immediately shakes things up by hiring longtime newsman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) as the new cohost for Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton).

Pomeroy is forced to take the job or his lucrative contract with the network will be severed, but he's not at all happy about the comedown of appearing on morning television. Brittle Colleen, on the other hand, comes to respect Becky's plans to save the show from cancellation and gamely dives into ratings-boosting stunts.

Becky, meanwhile, is also trying to figure out how to deal with her attraction for another producer (Patrick Wilson) along with her all-consuming job.

MORNING GLORY is a bright, upbeat film which achieves its goal of entertaining its audience; we laughed and smiled from start to finish. Rachel McAdams and Patrick Wilson are appealing as the two young producers.

The film's not completely perfect; Ford's growly character is quite funny but a bit overdone at times, and there's not enough of Keaton's delightfully interesting, highly amusing character. Nonetheless, it's a lot of fun, with a "feel good" ending, and I was glad I saw it; I'd happily watch it again in the future. A scene involving the weatherman and a roller coaster had me laughing so hard I nearly cried!

MORNING GLORY was directed by Roger Michell, whose credits include NOTTING HILL (1999).

The film runs 102 minutes.

Parental advisory: The movie is rated PG-13 for language, innuendo, and a love scene in which characters partially disrobe.

Trailers are available at IMDb.