‘Morning Glory’ – Perky McAdams wakes up screwball news farce

For a good, long while “Morning Glory” all but resurrects the screwball comedies of yore.

Then, the film’s missed opportunities start stacking up like cord wood, and it becomes another underachieving rom-com.

In the meantime we’re left with a dazzling turn by Rachel McAdams and one by Harrison Ford that takes us completely by surprise.

For once a Ford screen appearance isn’t an invitation to slumber time.

McAdams plays Becky Fuller, a Type A-plus morning show producer desperate for work after being let go in a cost-cutting tsunami. She ends up getting a juicy gig – executive producer – at a flailing morning show.

The station is a mess, with doorknobs breaking off and a co-host (Ty Burrell) who sexually harasses his colleagues – or at least their feet. Don’t ask. The show’s ratings are so low it could go the way of that “Knight Rider” reboot.

Becky thinks she can change all that. And to do so she hires a veteran newsman, Mike Pomeroy (Ford), to work alongside the current anchor, Colleen (Diane Keaton). Only Mike has no interest in fluffy cooking segments and morning show banter. He’s there because he’s under contract, period, and he does all he can to show Becky and crew that he’s not happy about it.

Can Becky turn the show around in time? And will she put down her Blackberry long enough to romance a fellow news producer (Patrick Wilson) willing to put up with her crazy hours?

Director Roger Michell ends any direct comparisons to 1987’s “Broadcast News” by casting “Glory” in the glow of those classic farces they don’t bother to make anymore. The actors do their part, including Keaton who all but screams to the rafters, “give me a juicier role … I’m ready for it!”

The scenes snap with comic energy, and McAdams makes Becky into a workaholic we can’t help falling for.

But why not use the verbal fireworks between Mike and Colleen to spike the show’s ratings – and simultaneously elevate “Morning Glory?” It’s precious when Mike sarcastically calls Colleen’s pap smear segment a “television classic,” and Colleen gives even better than she gets.

Instead, Becky goes for tabloid-style gimmicks, the best of which has the show’s Willard Scott stand-in trying to out-”Jackass” those nasty MTV personalities. You’ll hate yourself for laughing, but Michell makes the gimmick count all the same.

“Morning Glory” doesn’t bother commenting on the modern day news format, from the pressure of the 24 hour news cycle to the increasing reliance on wannabe stars like The Situation to push ratings. It’s unintentionally funny to see “The Today Show” held up as the exemplar of modern journalism, and even more odd to see a climactic moment involve a kitchen demonstration.

Becky’s fledgling romance would have to be upgraded to become an afterthought. It’s her ties to Mike which power the film’s second half. And Ford delivers here in powerful ways. He’s more vulnerable here than we’ve seen him before, and every time he rattles off the list of his broadcasting awards you can see a twinkle of fear in his face.

“Morning Glory” is sunny and sweet, but the sugar level drops in the film’s final reel leaving us with the predictable crush of story resolutions.

Audiences have been gritting their teeth while Katherine Heigl and Kate Hudson wrestle for the coveted Rom-Com Queen mantle. The new queen is here – the only remaining question is if McAdams wants that title.

(Photo: The morning national news program, “Daybreak,” has a new producer, Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) who must contend with the show’s gruff host Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) in Paramount Pictures’ comedy “Morning Glory.” Photo Credit: Macall Polay)