[PREVIEW] Film "Morning Glory"

Film "Morning Glory" [Paramount Pictures]

The reason Becky (Rachel McAdams), a rookie TV producer with no background in education nor experience, got the job at New York IBS is simple. The TV station merely needed someone to take charge of the mess that morning show “Day Break” whose rating was so low that it was watched only by those who have lost their remote control or patients who wait for nurses to change the channel they watch. Will Becky become the captain of Titanic that sinks along with the show or will she make the show see a miraculous turnaround? Armed with nothing but guts, Becky makes the radical decision of appointing legendary TV journalist Mike (Harrison Ford) to be the new host of her show.

Old veteran journalist Mike may have won eight Peabodys and 16 Emmys in the past, but among current young journalists, his evil reputation comes next to North Korea’s Kim Jong-il and Cinderella’s stepmother. Nonetheless, he was leading a convenient lifestyle, snickering at the idiocy and vulgarity of TV shows nowadays and enjoying going on an occasional hunt -- that is, until he received an unexpected visit from a woman who wanted him to be the host of her morning show. Unable to turn down the request due to his earlier contract with IBS, Mike ends up grudgingly taking part in the disastrous morning show set to shut down in six weeks if it sees no improvement in its ratings.

Anticipation Quotient: 7 (out of 10)
I am a television show

Film "Morning Glory" [Paramount Pictures]

“Morning Glory” which premieres on March 17 in Korea, may look like any other romantic comedy on the surface but with a point of its own within. Both the young producer and an old anchor are at risk, one because she has so little to offer and the other, too much to lose. Whether young or old or involved or not involved in the television show, the issue of 'survival' is never a simple issue to handle. Becky and Mike, who are the main axes of the movie, may seem to be standing at complete polars in terms of youth versus aged, docility versus rigidity and lightness versus weight. However, they are actually both workaholic-doppelgangers, only born of different gender and time. Hence in the end, no matter how much IBS pressured her to raise the show's ratings, making fun of her long-time role model was the last thing Becky had in mind. What she really wanted to see instead was him proving to the world that he is still up and running instead of making a joke of himself and disappearing backstage in line with the trend of the days. Surviving, not on behalf of making other people sacrifice but making the choice that will help everybody live, may be the not-so-complex ethics regarding television shows.

No matter how great the person was during a certain time, the world we live in does not guarantee that person a primetime slot forever. People like Mike who bloomed and became a living legend, sometime try to conceal their moment of decline or refuse to breathe by leaving their past glory behind. But the real tragedy is when others bury those 'legends' alive because they are afraid to create even the smallest dent to their perfect memories. It is when we do not 'respect' the fact they are alive because we 'honor' them. Becky woke her idol up who was long asleep under his tomb and they greet morning together.

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Reporter : Beck Una one@
Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@
Editor : Heidi Kim heidikim@