Ella McCay

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Videos & Photos

  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

James L. Brooks

Producer:

Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai

Writer:

James L. Brooks

Release Date:

Dec 12, 2025

Runtime:

1hr 55m

Synopsis

An idealistic young woman juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them.

Cast

  • Woody Harrelson
  • Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Jack Lowden
  • Rebecca Hall
  • Ayo Edebiri
  • Emma Mackey
  • Kumail Nanjiani
  • Albert Brooks
  • Becky Ann Baker
  • Julie Kavner
Moviegoers are saying
This political dramedy from the veteran filmmaker behind 'Broadcast News' has audiences deeply divided, with many feeling it's a well-intentioned but tone-deaf effort that relies too heavily on characters saying 'I love you' and insisting viewers find everyone adorable. Despite featuring Emma Mackey as a young governor and tackling family dynamics, reviewers found the dialogue stiff and the 2008 setting puzzling.
Top Mentions
Baffling-Choices
Earnest-Overload
Political-Nostalgia
Family-Dysfunction
Stiff-Dialogue
Sweet-Grandpa-Energy
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

2.5
66.2K
18.8K
9.7K
RATINGS 29 FANS
2.5
  • Dec 13, 2025

    i’m a neurotic brunette who can’t help but see the best in people of course i ate this up

    2.3K Likes
    zoë rose bryant
    zoë rose bryant
    Dec 11, 2025

    anxious agoraphobic son or girlboss governor daughter

    2.1K Likes
    vivdagoat 🍎🍂🐞
    vivdagoat 🍎🍂🐞
    Dec 12, 2025

    Baffling. 50% of all scenes end with characters earnestly saying "i love you" to each other. Set during 2008 for no discernible reason. Emma Mackey's performance like a parody of 1930s Capra. This should've been a novel.  The man who made Broadcast News and Terms of…

    2.1K Likes
    Jake
    Jake
  •
    Dec 9, 2025

    I love how they had to set this over 15 years ago to incorporate an uplifting message about U.S. politics

    1.6K Likes
    Matt Minton
    Matt Minton
    Dec 13, 2025

    my ella mccay headcannon is that they never specify which state she was born in because they’re trying to hide the fact that she’s a republican. she definitely isn’t btw

    1.2K Likes
    cerys
    cerys
    Dec 11, 2025

    I hallucinated this, I think.

    1.2K Likes
    Marie Bardi
    Marie Bardi
  •
    Nov 19, 2025

    I saw this movie almost a month ago and the scene between Ayo and Spike Fearn still hasn’t ended. (Also: Someone explain Ella’s scarf to me. Please. I beg you. I can’t stop thinking about the scarf.)

    1.2K Likes
    Matt Singer
    Matt Singer
    Nov 19, 2025

    there's a line delivery near the end where Albert Brooks falls into the exact cadence of "how do you like that? i buried the lede." and in that moment i was truly happy.

    1.0K Likes
    davidehrlich
    davidehrlich
    Dec 11, 2025

    at least emma mackey got a paycheck

    985 Likes
    cob
    cob

Atom Users Reviews

2.9
2
3
3
2
3
POPULAR TAGS
#great
#slow
#lovestory
#notmyfave

Reviews

  • PL
    Peggy Lawrence

    No plot. No purpose. Disappointing.

    PC
    Portia Culley

    There was no point to this movie. Zero.

    JL
    JoLynn Lee
  • VJ
    Vishrut Jha
    JD
    Junkyard D
    #slow
    BH
    Bob Hess
    #great
  • SR
    sheila rods
    #notmyfave
    LW
    L. Ray Williams
    #snoozefest
    #boring
    #cliché
    TF
    Tina Fulgham
    #justokay
Read all 13 customer reviews

Metacritic

39
metacritic
Based on 36 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
65
Dec 19, 2025

It’s that stealthy sense of guilt that turns Ella McCay into a rich, if often bewildering, document for me. Yes, it’s the kind of movie Hollywood doesn’t make much of anymore, but honestly, even back in the day, the industry rarely ever pushed out something this delightfully weird.

David Sims
The Atlantic
50
Dec 15, 2025

Ella McCay is gas-leak cinema at its finest, which is to say that there is a naïve purity to its unhinged qualities that is almost charming.

Metacritic review by Alison Willmore
Alison Willmore
New York Magazine (Vulture)
40
Dec 15, 2025

Ella McCay has some fine moments but getting to those little gold nuggets requires a lot of tedious sifting through the sand.

Keith Phipps
The Reveal

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ella McCay (2025) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as PG-13, meaning that some material may be considered inappropriate for children under 13.
How long is Ella McCay (2025)?
The movie is 1hr 55min long.
What's Ella McCay (2025) about?
An idealistic young woman juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them.
Who's the cast of Ella McCay (2025)?
  • Woody Harrelson as Eddie McCay
  • Jamie Lee Curtis as Helen McCay
  • Jack Lowden
  • Rebecca Hall
  • Ayo Edebiri
  • Emma Mackey as Ella McCay
  • Kumail Nanjiani
  • Albert Brooks
  • Becky Ann Baker
  • Julie Kavner as Estelle
Who's the director behind Ella McCay (2025)?
James L. Brooks directed Ella McCay (2025).
Who produced Ella McCay (2025)?
Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks and Richard Sakai produced Ella McCay (2025).