Fridae

In 1976, a blink of an eye after the high point of news journalism where honest newscasters like Edward R Murrow and Dan Rather told the truth as it stood, Peter Finch portrayed in Network what would be a common sight in real life two decades on – the half-crazed angry man/pundit/talking head venting his reality-challenged outrage of the day on a current affairs show on TV. Now, we live in an age where people get their daily news from pathological bullies and hyperventilating gasbags like Keith Olbermann, Glenn Beck, or Bill O’Reilly, and where the most reliable and factually accurate news comes from Jon Stewart, the anchor for a fake news show that runs on a Comedy Central.

With current affairs programming so discredited and disreputable, perhaps the only honest thing left is the morning show, where no one is trying to deliver any important news, where quirky “human interest” stories and superficial self-help segments (how to save 10 seconds in the kitchen with a new method to peel carrots!) will make the rest of your day much easier to get through.

Imagine if you will, a film set in this particular slice of the universe. There is a morning breakfast show running low on ratings, a fresh-faced, earnest and overachieving studio executive (Rachel McAdams) who wouldn’t mind spilling her guts to save the show, and a veteran newscaster (Harrison Ford) in the mould of Edward R Murrow and Dan Rather forced to anchor the same vapid morning show. For him, it’s definitely an insult. For us, it’s a fish out of water comedy that gets only funnier each time the veteran anchorman throws a self righteous tantrum, wallows in his plight, or butts heads with his morning show co-host (Diane Keaton).

If you’re in on the joke, Morning Glory isn’t just a breezy, light comedy starring Rachel McAdams as a capable yet blundering working woman trying to do her job, but also a dark and angry comedy starring Harrison Ford as a veteran in an industry that he no longer has a place in. The strength and watchability of Morning Glory lies in its ability to tell both comedies at the same time, and to equal effectiveness.