Top of the Morning to You: A Morning Glory Review

First things first. "Top of the morning to you" is a phrase that appears nowhere in Morning Glory, but it's the first thing that popped into my head when I typed out "Morning Glory." That awkward introduction being said, I watched Morning Glory last night, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the movie. There were both some good aspects to the movie and there were some bad aspects to the movie. Luckily, there wasn't any "ugly" to the movie. So, for organization's sake, I'll separate my thoughts on the movie into the good and the bad. So, I guess the begs the question: good news or bad news first? I'm going to go with the bad and then the good, but feel free to read it in whatever order you choose.

Photo Credit: Macall Polay/Paramount Pictures

 The Bad

One aspect of the movie that really did not work for me was it's early attempts to make Becky (Rachel McAdams) endearing. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like Rachel McAdams. In fact, it's the opposite; I think that she has enough inherent charm that there was no need to make efforts to give her character charm. The beginning of the movie has McAdams bumbling around incompetently with such klutziness that she gives Bella Swan a run for her money (see see this). Okay, maybe it's not that bad. I understand that the movie wanted us to see a progression in Becky's competence, but I felt that her initial behaviorism was too cartoonishly over the top.

Another issue I had with Morning Glory is that its subplots weren't great. There was a half-hearted romance that was okay, but it really served no purpose. There also seemed to be come attempt to throw a "work isn't what matters in life" message into the mix. While this ended up tying into the film in a sense, it was somewhat sloppily done, and I would have liked the film better without it.

The Good

Ty Burrell. Okay, I'm done.

Okay, I'm just kidding with that. However, I did greatly enjoy Ty Burrell's (of Modern Family fame) five minutes or so of screen time. I love him on Modern Family, and he lights up the screen when he's on it. Besides Ty Burrell, I thought Morning Glory did a good job with the casting. Harrison Ford's character was a little too gruff for my liking, but I think he did a good job playing him. I'm not Diane Keaton's biggest fan, but she too was good in the role that she was given. As I stated earlier, I'm a fan of Rachel McAdam's, and her charm was a large part of what worked about Morning Glory.

Probably the biggest draw of Morning Glory to me was the job at a morning show aspect. It was an interesting job that I haven't seen featured a lot in movies, and the movie really shine's when it focuses on Becky's work. I found myself really rooting for her show to do well. I stated earlier that I wasn't crazy about the romance subplot, however small it may have been. Maybe it would have made the movie too one dimensional, but I'd be interested to see what it would have been like if it focused solely on Becky's job. Part of what was fun about Becky's morning show was that it was a fun parody of shows like the Today Show (which actually plays a role in the plot). I think they could have had a bit more fun with the parodying (I, for one, would have loved to see a Kathie Lee/Hoda joke), but it was still an enjoyable aspect.

Bottom Line

Morning Glory is a cute little chick flick. It's far from the best of it's genre, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy it, but it's a good rental if you're in the mood for a bit of fluff or are a fan of Rachel McAdams.