It would be easy to dismiss this film as typical lighthearted Hollywood fluff that carries no real message (other than a 2 hour escape). The interesting thing is that it's really not an escape - we are tossed right into the workaday world of a manic TV producer. Additionally, though it has plenty of light moments, it also carries a bit of depth in breaking down a couple of lead characters.
Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller, morning TV show producer. Becky is a cute, driven, frantic, EverReady Bunny ball of energy who watches multiple TV's and carries on multiple conversations, all while texting incessantly. She's hired by Jeff Goldblum in his final attempt at resurrecting ratings for "Daybreak," in last place to "The Today Show."
The story gets interesting when Becky recruits/blackmails news legend Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) to co-anchor the show with Diane Keaton's character. To compare, Keaton's character will kiss a frog or don a pink tutu and has mastered the perpetual smile so necessary for morning TV. Ford's character may not have smiled since 4th grade and views the mission of TV as delivering news and hard stories and information.
The conflict in the story comes from Ford's character (labeled the world's third worst person), whom the world has passed by, and McAdams', who is the eternal optimist. It's pretty obvious they will somehow save each other, but still I found it entertaining to watch the process. Although I'm grateful there was no May-September romance between McAdams and Ford...just creepy that would be!
The film itself, directed by Roger Michell (Venus, Notting Hill) and Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), does a nice job with insight into those whose personalities are bound tightly to their job. Even though it's not at the level of "Broadcast News," it offers enough depth and comedy to really make this a worthwhile film to see!
