“Morning Glory” Delightful Look at Today’s Television
Dec 9th
“Delightful Look at Today’s Television”
MORNING GLORY is an amusing little comedy about the people in charge of a television network’s morning show trying to increase their ratings and keep from being canceled.
Starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, and Diane Keaton, the movie can bring back memories of when these morning shows were more about news than they were about entertainment, more about information than they were about ratings, and when they didn’t require their hosts to become buffoons.
Good times.
McAdams plays Becky Fuller, who gets fired from her producer’s job on a morning show in New Jersey and finally gets an interview in New York City for the job of executive producer of “Daybreak,” the morning show on IBS, the fourth-place network.
Jeff Goldblum plays Jerry Barnes, the head of the news division who interviews Becky, and he tells her that her boss in New Jersey had said that Becky was the most promising producer he had ever fired.
Despite that less-than-glowing recommendation and despite the fact that Jerry tells her she has never been an executive producer before and she is too young, she gets the job of executive producer of “Daybreak.”
However, when she shows up for her first day of work and tells the guard in the lobby who she is, he tells her, “Another one? Don’t unpack.”
Becky’s first meeting with her staff is chaotic, but after she takes control, she surprises everybody by firing the male co-host on the spot.
Now she has to find someone to replace him who won’t cost a penny and still get the ratings up, which leads her to Mike Pomeroy, played by Ford, who is still under contract to the network after being fired from the network news desk.
Mike refuses to be the co-host at first, but Becky finds a loophole in his contract and essentially blackmails him to join the show, which annoys the other co-host, Colleen Peck, played by Keaton.
Mike refuses to say the word “fluffy,” Colleen insists on being the one to say “Goodbye” at the end of the show, and you can see where all this bickering is going to end.
Even so, it is very funny getting there.
MORNING GLORY is a delightful look at today’s television, and for some a wish that it would become as serious as it used to be.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Morning Glory – Movie Trailer
Dec 6th
A romantic comedy set in the hilarious and dysfunctional world of morning television. When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller (McAdams) is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at “Daybreak” (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford). Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts, let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Keaton), a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality, who is more than happy covering morning “news.” As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky’s blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett (Wilson) begins to unravel. And soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, her job and ultimately, the show itself.
“Love & Other Drugs” Life Changed Forever
Dec 2nd
“Life Changed Forever”
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS is a bittersweet romantic comedy with a twist, and by “twist” I don’t mean a twist of lemon that could be applied, but rather a subplot that provides its “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” jokes.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway star, two excellent actors who are not only easy on the eyes, but also both of whom have already been mentioned as possibilities for Best Actor and Best Actress awards in 2011 for this movie.
The time is 1996, and Jake plays Jamie Randall, an enthusiastic salesman of practically everything, but most of his successful sales seem to be to attractive women, if you catch my drift.
In fact, his sales techniques and satisfied customers tend to get him fired, too, and so at a family dinner with his parents and millionaire brother, when they talk about their professional accomplishments, Jamie has to announce, “I am looking for other opportunities.”
Jamie finds a job, and he goes through six weeks of training to become a pharmaceutical representative for a major drug company. The job requires hard-core sales, and he has a quota he has to meet.
Now, sooner or later everyone likes Jamie, because he will do anything to make them like him.
That includes paying $1,000 to Dr. Stan Knight, played by Hank Azaria, to let Jamie shadow him one day, and if anyone asks, Jamie is an intern.
One of the patients is Maggie Murdock, who has early onset Parkinson’s Disease, and Jamie is instantly smitten.
Maggie finds out about Jamie’s deception, but she agrees to go out with him anyway, because she is just like him, not looking for any long-term relationship, except that in her case she doesn’t want to become an inevitable burden to anyone.
Then Jamie’s company comes out with a little blue pill called Viagra, and that changes everything in Jamie’s life.
Of course, Jamie’s and Maggie’s relationship has its ups and downs–wink, wink, nudge, nudge–and I don’t mean just physical.
If this enjoyable romcom has a moral, it would be “Everybody needs someone to take care of them.”
And, of course, people like Jamie and Maggie don’t believe that originally and fight it as long as they can.
LOVE & OTHER DRUGS also shows how you can meet one person and your life is changed forever.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
