‘Morning Glory’ gets low ratings

By Roger Moore

The Orlando Sentinel

Imagine the idealists of 1987’s “Broadcast News” in the New Media Age. They avoid the term “journalism” and embrace the “fluff.”

That’s the conceit behind “Morning Glory,” a barely serviceable romantic comedy about a perky, failing morning news show producer and the grizzled mismatched anchors she can never quite keep happy, on or off the air.

The Roger Michell film is a decent vehicle for Rachel McAdams, perky and a bit manic as Becky Fuller, a downsized New Jersey morning show producer who lands at ratings cellar dweller, “Daybreak.” Her new boss is played by Jeff Goldblum.

Becky’s fight to save the show and save her career follows a predictable path, though the director of “Notting Hill,” “Venus” and “Enduring Love” manages to maintain the mystery of whether any of this will work out.

Becky fires one anchor and fails to impress the other, a former beauty queen and a real diva, played with flighty, mean-spirited energy by Diane Keaton.

She hires “legendary” TV newsman Mike Pomeroy, who hates “fluff” and drinks. If only he weren’t played by the un-anchorish Harrison Ford.

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