Morning Glory - What's Glorious About Morning News?

There’s a scene in Roger Michell’s “Morning Glory” where the protagonist’s mom dispenses her thought about “dreaming” at specific ages. And it struck a chord:

At 8, it’s adorable.

At 18, it’s inspiring.

At 28, it’s officially embarrassing.

You have to stop before you get to “heart breaking”.

Coming from a mother, the effect should be excruciating. We are talking about Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) who gets fired as executive producer of her New Jersey morning news show. Well, Becky eventually finds another, in a fourth-rate broadcast morning show. She gets to meet her haughty lady anchor Colleen Peck (the adorable Diane Keaton), fires the slimy male host – and ropes in a cranky, cantankerous multi-awarded Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) who’s repellent to anything but hard news.

Morning show TV producer Becky Fuller

Becky pep talks her anchors Colleen and Mike, who don't see eye to eye.

The film runs with frenetic energy from the voluble and expansive Rachel McAdams who sometimes goes over the top with her theatrics, it could get exasperating watching her. The cat-and-mouse bickering of Colleen and Mike as work politics gets in the way (who gets to utter the last word on screen) gets boisterous too. Am having trouble imbibing the thought that Indiana Jones is a hard news reporter, but on the whole, “Morning Glory” is a throw back, if a tad superficial, to the old glory of 1987’s James Brooks’ film, “Broadcast News” which starred the beautiful William Hurt and the spitfire Holly Hunter (the film received 8 Oscar nominations).

As bonus, Patrick Wilson’s character Adam Bennett talks about the “communist rebels of the Philippines” when Becky drops by his office.

This was fun.

You have to learn to banter with Colleen, begs Becky.

Colleen tries something light and fun... for the ratings.

Adam Bennett is attracted to manic soul Becky, but she's too attached with her work.

Rachel McAdams

Harrison Ford in his younger days (above and below).

Patrick Wilson

Brendan Fraser Takes Extraordinary Measures

I have never heard of Pompe's Disease. It is something I'm lucky not to have encountered! It's a rare genetic disorder that results into the gradual muscular degeneration of the patient involved - from the liver, to the lungs; from the voluntary muscles, then the heart. Children afflicted with it eventually die by age 2, although those who survive will invariably pass away at 9 years old.

"Extraordinary Measures" is the story of a father (Brendan Fraser) whose 2 children suffer from Pompe. This is the story of John Crowley (Fraser) who took a gargantuan leap of faith and looked for the solution to his children's illness. Harrison Ford appears as the eccentric research scientist who seems to have a theoretical cure for it, but he's too strange to deal with those will possibly fund his $10 million cure!

The narrative may tend to get sappy at times, but the hopeful story ultimately inspires. It reminds me of "Lorenzo's Oil" which was about Adrenoleukodystrophy. More recently, I saw Harry Connick, Jr. and Amanda Bynes in "Living Proof" which dealt with a new cure for breast cancer! These 3 films were all based on real stories, giving hope to all those who can only see darkness.

In a world cloaked by bad news and strife, we need more stories like them.

Brendan Fraser

Harrison Ford: "I used to shake my head, as in 'No, I just look like him.' But that's not fair. So I said to those little old ladies at Trenton Airport, "Yes, I am Harrison Ford". And they still didn't believe it was me."

Brendan Fraser says, "I believe you have a responsibility to comfort yourself in a manner that gives an example to others. As a young man, I prayed for success. Now I pray just to be worthy of it."