Movie Review: Ella McCay
There is a sort of “boomer” naivety to Ella McCay. Writer/director James L. Brooks’s newest film, his first since 2010’s How Do You Know, has a whimsical and idealistic point of view that could only exist in the mind of an older, wealthy person whose cinematic prime was in the 80s. It feels like Brooks has no idea what is going on in the world or in American politics. He has no idea how much money people make or how much things cost. He doesn’t understand modern relationships or modern media. Ella McCay is, ultimately, an idealistic fantasy of America.
And yet, it’s rather charming and funny.
Emma Mackey stars as the titular Ella McCay, a 34-year-old idealistic lieutenant governor of an unnamed state. When the incumbent governor (Albert Brooks) accepts a cabinet position, Ella is chosen as his replacement, and she has a lot of ideas on how to improve her state. Ella’s first couple of days in office are met with complete turmoil, as family and marriage drama, along with the complications of being a young, new governor, push Ella’s optimistic worldview to its brink.
Ella McCay is Brooks’s first film set outside a contemporary timeframe. All his previous films took place roughly around the time of the film’s release. Brooks sets the movie in 2008, a time that the film’s narrator claims was a “better time when we all still liked each other.” No argument from me on that one, and it’s kind of crazy to think that you can talk about 2008 like we’re talking about the 1960s. There isn’t much of a 2008 feeling to the film, but what would 2008 actually look and feel like? Setting it in 2008 felt unnecessary and a cop out that Brooks doesn’t understand the modern world. He also doesn’t make the film feel very 2008, whatever that may look like. He doesn’t use needle drops of songs from that year, and cellphones are a little bit bigger, but otherwise, the film could be set in an unknown state at an unknown time.
Once you start to view Ella McCay as more of a fantasy than as a time capsule of a “better time,” it becomes far more enjoyable. Brooks’s snappy writing remains top-notch, with dialogue that is quick, witty, and humorous. The plot is over-stuffed with too many subplots and characters, such as Ella’s agoraphobic brother, Casey’s (Spike Fearn) attempt to get back a girl he stopped calling out of fear. This subplot detracts from some of the more interesting relationships and plots that Brooks establishes, such as Ella’s father (Woody Harrelson) trying to get Ella to forgive him for his past infidelities, and the relationship between Ella and the incumbent governor.
Brooks conjures a stellar ensemble for Ella McCay, including Harrelson, Brooks, Julie Kavner, Jack Lowden, Rebecca Hall, Ayo Edebiri, and Jamie Lee Curtis, who is superb. But the star of the show is Mackey as McCay. Mackey radiates whenever on screen, delivering an energetic performance of good and optimism. She’s hilarious, empathetic, and determined, and though the film feels more like a fantasy than something set in the real world, having a character like McCay is important in today’s cinematic landscape because it reminds us that there is still good out there. It reminds us of the power of working together and the importance of forgiveness. Mackey’s performance alone makes Ella McCay worth the price of admission.
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