'Glory' more like morning after

After being fired from her gig as a producer for “Good Morning, New Jersey,” Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) says in an interview that she just needs someone to believe in her. Well, so does “Morning Glory,” the movie McAdams stars in.

Scattered, underdeveloped and predictable, “Morning Glory” pressed the snooze button and rolled over. Not even an extra shot of espresso could have woken up this movie.

When a Columbia journalism grad enters “Good Morning, New Jersey,”  with an MBA, Fuller finds herself out of a job. Mailing out résumé after résumé, Fuller eventually joins “Daybreak,” a morning news show with low ratings and even lower morale.

She immediately fires the news anchor with a foot fetish, replacing him with cranky, egotistical Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). Pomeroy shares the “Daybreak” spotlight with Colleen Peck, a negative, uninspired woman played by Diane Keaton.

“Morning Glory” lacks direction in its writing and results in one-dimensional characters and lackluster relationships. McAdams struggles to make Fuller, a character with little depth, anything more than a work-obsessed, over-achieving woman. McAdams succeeds at least more than Ford does with his character.

Even as Pomeroy attempts to advise Fuller against making work her main priority in life, the fact that he is suddenly about to cry fails to persuade that Pomeroy is anything but the selfish, arrogant jerk he has been the entire movie. He is stagnant and frustrating, especially compared to his co-host, Peck, who actually develops into a likeable character.

Relationships, as well, fail to develop — especially the supposed romantic relationship between McAdams and a bland leading male played by Patrick Wilson. In fact, Pomeroy and Fuller are more of a couple than the two producers appear to be. Wilson is rarely on screen, and when he is, he just smiles and looks pretty.

Overall, “Morning Glory” mirrors the failing “Daybreak” — it lacks focus, heart and motivation. However, it had potential, and with a little more direction, it could have received higher ratings.