Ella McCay
Review by Ryan Michael Painter
James L. Brooks played a hand in the creation of television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, and The Simpsons. He directed, produced and wrote or co-wrote Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets. He has three Oscars, nearly two dozen Emmys, and a Golden Globe. He even produced Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket.
That’s an incredible resume. So, why have I avoided writing about his latest film, Ella McCay? I’ll try to make this brief.
115 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written and directed by James L. Brooks
Synopsis:
In the hopeful comedy, Emma Mackey stars as Ella McCay, an idealistic young woman who confronts the toughest time in her life… and then hope walks in.
If the film’s synopsis, which was provided by 20th Century Studios, is to be believed, Ella McCay is intended to be an inspirational tale about a “idealistic young woman” who “confronts the toughest time in her life” when hope appears, like a deus ex machina, before her.
In actuality, the film reads more as the story of an incompetent heroine who fails to rise to the moment when by chance, or divine right, she is made governor of an unnamed state. The “toughest time in her life” being the unraveling of her career thanks to a series of idiotic decisions made in reaction to even more idiotic decisions made by her utterly useless husband. Yes, I’ll concede that there are individuals who are fundamentally dumb; they often populate satires. Ella McCay doesn’t see or present itself as a satire.
Maybe I’ve forgotten what life was like in 2008, but Ella McCay feels completely out of step with any identifiable reality. It may have been made with good intentions, but the results are abysmal. The cast is rife with talent, but many of the performances feel disingenuous. Do you blame the actor, the writer, or the director? Some might find relief when Jamie lee Curtis is on screen, but her charisma couldn’t keep me from wanting to walk out of the screening. Even Hans Zimmer’s score is grating.
Ella McCay is misguided, blind to its own glaring flaws. Worst film of 2025? Probably not. Most disappointing? Yes, absolutely.
Ella McCay is now in theaters and stars Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Spike Fearn, Julie Kavner, Rebecca Hall, Becky Ann Baker, Joey Brooks, with Albert Brooks and Woody Harrelson.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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