The young woman comes springing up the hill, knees and elbows working, looking for all the world like a juvenile doe, headed straight at the motionless, broad-shouldered man with a shotgun. Except that the metaphorical significance of the moment has been reversed: Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is the hunter, and Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) is the game. Becky produces "Daybreak," the failing morning show on a fictitious network called IBS, and her last shot to save the show may be to lure or drag this embittered veteran newsman out of his enforced retirement.
Am I reading way too much symbolism and subtext into a brightly colored Hollywood comedy that rips off the "Mary Tyler Moore" Manhattan TV-girl story for about the 46th time? Maybe, kind of -- but not really. "Morning Glory" is worth your attention amid the overcrowded fall movie calendar precisely because it was directed with love and imagination by Roger Michell, a talented British filmmaker who's been kicking around the margins of the industry since he clicked with "Notting Hill" 11 years ago. This is a brash, lightweight backstage comedy that looks lovely, doesn't insult its audience and uses its stars, both young and old, to terrific effect.
See www.salon.com for full review
