BOTTOM LINE: Flat, uninspired, clichéd, and just not well executed, “Morning Glory” is an unfortunate waste of the talent involved, despite a few glimmers of humour from Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton as a pair of mis-matched morning television show hosts.

THE GOOD: “Morning Glory” follows the typical ‘working-girl-who-has-to-prove-herself’ story mixed with the usual romantic subplots and so forth. The one difference in this case is that instead of being an intern or something, lead character Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is hired in to the top job as executive producer of a failing morning television show called DayBreak by a sceptical boss (Jeff Goldblum). Becky has to turn the ratings around or face cancellation, which leads her to draft veteran news man Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) who clearly feels this sort of work is beneath him; he only agrees to do it to ensure he is paid the millions owed to him on his contract. Harrison Ford is perhaps the best thing about this movie; he plays the self-absorbed, angry, cutting egotist with flair and fun, and is a departure from his usual action hero roles. Diane Keaton is also good as his co-host, who is likewise self-absorbed but is open to new ideas and prepared to do whatever it takes to help the show stay on the air, to comedic effect. Seeing these two characters banter against each other shows the potential promise of a movie like this; two antagonistic characters played by veteran actors. From this angle, “Morning Glory” has something to offer.

THE BAD: Although formula is the name of the game here, the film is so poorly executed that it makes even the usual use of the formula seem inspired. Rachel McAdams seems miscast in a goofy role which she does not at all look comfortable portraying. Despite the heavyweights in the supporting cast, she is ultimately responsible for carrying the movie, and the script and direction do not really give her anything to work with. Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton are clearly capable of turning great performances; if they had been given a better script, this film would have been special off their backs alone. The romance subplot is poorly tacked on, is not integrated in to the story that well and barely registers as an after thought. The clichés come think and fast, and overall, it just is not believable, particularly when Becky goes from outright failure to ratings success in six weeks and then gets offered the top job in television on the Today show. “Morning Glory” only has hints of something interesting in its uninspired and flatly executed narrative.