We didn’t how a lot we missed James. L. Brooks. Till now.
The director behind “Broadcast Information,” “Phrases of Endearment” and “As Good As It Will get” returns with “Ella McCay.” Immediately, now we have a megawatt solid scarfing down candy morsels of dialogue that seize us by the collar.
No, this isn’t a whole return to kind, nevertheless it’s a far cry higher than his final outing, the middling “How Do You Know,” a movie lacking a query mark and sense of function.
“Ella McCay” is aware of precisely what it needs to be, and it will get shut sufficient to rely.
The titular heroine, performed with zest by Emma Mackey, is the Lieutenant Governor of an unnamed state who cares extra about coverage than politics.
Cease the presses! Yeah, it’s a film cliché of the primary order, however this kind of screwball comedy is a throwback in additional methods than one.
Ella will get the break of a lifetime when “Governor Invoice” (Albert Brooks, terrific) snags a plum cupboard submit within the new Obama White Home, making her the state’s new chief.
(“Ella McCay” is devoid of political trappings, avoiding partisanship at each flip. We assume Ella and co. are all Democrats, however there aren’t any lectures or sucker punches to interrupt the story.)
She’s elated and able to roll up her sleeves, however hardball politics received’t make it straightforward. Her husband Ryan (Jack Lowden) is a wild card in additional methods than one. Ella’s father (Woody Harrelson) is a reformed womanizer determined to have her settle for his apologies.
The worst half? Ella refuses to play politics, even when it means her run as governor is perhaps temporary.
James L. Brooks tells us why he determined to make his first movie in 15 years with ‘ELLA MCCAY’
“I’ve a day job with The Simpsons, at a sure level I simply wanted to put in writing, I hadn’t written a film in a very long time” pic.twitter.com/Rv3kwjMsyI
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 11, 2025
Brooks’ script and tone have been described by critics as stuffy and/or old style. Responsible as charged, however so what? Few latest scripts have the bounce that Brooks brings to “Ella McCay,” and he has the solid to hold it off.
There’s extra life in a Brooks scene than in most company, protected mainstream films. Typically it’s an excessive amount of life, however that’s a discount we’ll take each time.
Jamie Lee Curtis looks as if she simply bought information of her Oscar win earlier than stepping earlier than Brooks’ cameras. She’s ebullient as Ella’s no-nonsense Aunt, and her character’s joie de vivre is infectious. Curtis additionally enhances Ella’s oh, so critical demeaner, which could in any other case drag the film down.
Brooks nonetheless ought to have realized that some parts of “Ella McCay” merely don’t work. A romantic subplot involving Ella’s youthful brother (Spike Feam) slows the story all the way down to a crawl and will have been effortlessly despatched to the modifying room ground.
Ella clicks with a key member of her safety element (Kumail Nanjiani), however these interactions appear able to construct to one thing memorable. No such luck, save an pointless scene that includes a member of Brooks’ real-life brood (Joey Brooks).
The Harrelson/Mackey dynamic scores some bitter laughs, nevertheless it wants an additional scene or two to achieve a full boil.
The 2008 setting could appear innocuous, nevertheless it really issues concerning the “scandal” engulfing Ella. The tradition has moved quickly over the past 20-odd years, and had the occasions of the movie unfolded at the moment, it will be far much less consequential.
It may not even lap a single Outrage Cycle™.
The very best scenes discover Ella banging heads with Brooks’ slick politician. He’s not a nasty particular person, per se, however a Beltway creature who struggles to search out his humanity even when he’s wanting oh, so arduous to reclaim it. Brooks’ efficiency is easy and lightweight, an ideal strategy to seize Ella’s candy, naive world view.
At 85, Brooks is making films for a unique technology. No quick cuts, absurd plot surprises or dialogue so generic an AI bot may spit it out in seconds.
Yeah, “Ella McCay” is hopelessly old style and out of time. Thank goodness.
HiT or Miss: “Ella McKay” is director James L. Brooks’ flawed however welcome return to cinemas.