Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton may be the bigger stars but it’s Rachel McAdams who burns brightest in “Morning Glory,” a charming but lightweight comedy that essentially boils down to being “The Devil Wears Prada” in a news room. While there’s hardly anything wrong with that (both films were written by Aline Brosh McKenna), I wish McKenna and director Roger Michell had done more with the film’s promising concept and made better use of their undeniably talented cast – especially Harrison Ford who sleep walks through his role! Nevertheless, this is the first film in a long time that truly showcases Rachel McAdams’ immense talent and versatility. Hopefully it’s the role that enables her to score more prestige roles down the line.

McAdams plays Becky Fuller, a perky, exceedingly hyper-active producer who, after being laid off from her New Jersey morning show, is hired by a slimy but sympathetic network exec (Jeff Goldblum) to resuscitate “Daybreak,” the lowest-rated national morning show on television, from imminent cancellation. From the start, it’s evident that everything at this show is broke – from the diva-ish ex-beauty queen co-anchor Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) to the disillusioned staff. Things only get worse when Becky fires the show’s chauvinistic male co-anchor (“Modern Family’s” Ty Burrell) on her first day, thus leaving the show peg-legged with only one anchor.

To fill in the void, Becky hires one of her childhood heroes –Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), one of the network’s legendary newsmen – who after becoming disillusioned with the current state of journalism, reverted to rotting away in the dark, waiting for his contract to end. Unfortunately for Becky, Mike turns out to be a notorious Scrooge or how a character in the film puts it, “the third worst person in the world.” From the day he walks into Becky’s studio, he begins to wreck havoc on the show: First by refusing to cover non-news stories, then getting drunk and blatantly disrespecting everyone around him, and finally, getting into an on-air battle with Colleen, who also happens to resent him. But then, just as the network preps to pull the plug, Becky conjures a miracle with an impromptu series of hilarious “Jackass”-styled segments that shocks just about everyone on the show but brings in audiences in droves after becoming a YouTube sensation.

Many reviewers have compared “Morning Glory” to the James L. Brooks’ classic “Broadcast News” but I doubt screenwriter McKenna had those lofty ambitions in mind. In reality, it’s closer to her own “The Devil Wears Prada.” Like that film, “Morning Glory” follows a career-driven young woman whose sacrifices her personal life in order to cater to the needs of an unbearable boss. And like Anne Hathaway in “Prada,” I suspect this will be the role that brings McAdams the respect she deserves in order to move on to the next phase of her career (i.e. out of the “girlfriend-role” ghetto). On paper, the role reads as just another generic rom-com lead but McAdams infuses it with the personality, grace and charm that only the best actresses are able to. If it weren’t for some of the elements I’m about to get into, she’d be a serious awards contender (sort of like Renee Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’ Diary”).

There are two things that prevent “Morning Glory” from being one of the year’s best comedies. The first is the script. Though it has its moments, is relatively well-written and thoroughly enjoyable, it never delves too deep into the issue of networks placing more importance to ratings over content. This is a significant issue that’s been done to death but still very relevant – especially considering the current state of the journalism industry. Additionally, a portion of the film is wasted on a useless romance subplot with Patrick Wilson that never goes anywhere. More importantly, Diane Keaton suffers from a grossly under-written role that amounts to shoulder padding. This is a woman who starred as Kay in “The Godfather” trilogy and won the Oscar for being “Annie Hall” for Heaven’s sake!

The second and most significant problem of “Morning Glory” begins and ends with Harrison Ford. Remember how Ford looked dull and uninterested throughout “Indy 4?” Yea, it’s the same thing here. Whereas “The Devil Wears Prada” (and Anne Hathaway) was immensely bolstered and balanced out by a fantastic Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep, McAdams is shafted by Ford who spends the majority of his performance emoting in a tone that more-or-less resembles a broken “Get Off My Plane!”-tape from “Air Force One.” Though it’s understandable that Pomeroy is supposed to be a grumpy and inconsiderate jerk, Ford amputates every ounce of charm from the character, making him immensely boring. Throughout the film, I got the feeling that Ford just isn’t even interested in acting anymore. It’s really tragic because this relationship is the film’s glue, something that’s comparable to a relationship between an estranged father and daughter. If Ford had pulled it off, I’m certain this would have got him some of the best notices of his career – instead, it sorely cripples the film and relegates it to middle-brow land.

BOTTOM LINE: “Morning Glory” is a flawed but still very enjoyable news-room that owes a lot to movies like “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Broadcast News.” While I was very disappointed in Harrison Ford and the film’s lack of interest in tackling some stronger, heftier issues, I was extremely impressed by Rachel McAdams who gives arguably the best performance of young career. Perhaps in a stronger film, this is a performance that could have been considered for awards consideration. Regardless, in a marketplace crawling with wretched, idiotic stuff like “Skyline,” “Unstoppable” and “Saw 3D,” this comedy is easily the best thing out there until Harry Potter and his broom-flying pals drop into town next weekend.

GRADE: B-

MORNING GLORY

Directed by: Roger Michell

Written by: Aline Brosh McKenna

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum

Rated: PG-13 (for some sexual content including dialogue, language and brief drug references).