Ella McCay
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Videos & Photos
- Trailer 1 (02:24)
Movie Info & Cast
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
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews
Letterboxd User Reviews
2.4
59.0K
17.9K
8.9K
- Dec 13, 2025
i’m a neurotic brunette who can’t help but see the best in people of course i ate this up
zoë rose bryantDec 12, 2025Baffling. 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…
JakeDec 11, 2025anxious agoraphobic son or girlboss governor daughter
vivdagoat 🍎🍂🐞 - Dec 9, 2025
I love how they had to set this over 15 years ago to incorporate an uplifting message about U.S. politics
Matt MintonDec 13, 2025my 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
cerysDec 11, 2025I hallucinated this, I think.
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.)
Matt SingerNov 19, 2025there'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.
davidehrlichDec 11, 2025at least emma mackey got a paycheck
cob
Queue Community Reviews
74%
Community 1,523
Top Reviews
- adri is "meh" onElla McCay
Not my favorite, I felt it was incomplete and didn’t really finish a lot of the plots. I had no idea what they were trying to convey lol
Boogie Astro likedElla McCaySo underappreciated, it's a good movie! It's a real shame that people talked about it online just because it didn't make “enough money” at the theaters..but hey, at least it caught my attention and I added it to my watch list. 🙃
MTMSLG is "meh" onElla McCayReally wanted to like this but the story, the characters, the politics are just so twenty (?) years ago.
- Nick Dubberly dislikedElla McCay
Saw a cardboard display for this at my theater and that’s the extent of what I know about this film! It’s like a straight to streaming picture and it probably should have been because I heard absolutely nothing about it. Just a long political bore with no redeeming qualities.
hanne is "meh" onElla McCayrating: 💼💼 well. hmmm. ayo edebri fun and charming as always, i actually liked that storyline. everything about this was just sort of… befuddling. a kind of political optimism that just does not translate well right now. would’ve fared better in the obama era. hollow now
Amina Malone likedElla McCayI saw this early in a feedback screening in the summer and while it’s not bad, it’s nothing new/def a little cliche (which others have said). When I mentioned this they waved me off as too young to understand so idk i guess that’s the effect they wanted 🤷♀️
- Benjamin Franklin Roosevelt the Chunky likedElla McCay
Overwritten but charming. Very 2019 in its social justice warrior-everyone says exactly what they mean-women are all ideal and get the best lines aesthetic. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was written around then and was several years in the making.
Sam Castro likedElla McCayFor a movie that didn’t get enough buzz online and such o expected this to be a certain level of bad but it actually wasn’t, I really genuinely enjoyed, like it’s not the best film in the world but it has plenty of redeeming qualities!
Jen likedElla McCayThis movie is all over the place at times and the husband in this movie drives me insane. Actually both husbands in this movie drive me insane. But overall, I enjoyed this movie because it’s about finding your own strength.
Atom Users Reviews
POPULAR TAGS
Reviews
- PLPeggy Lawrence
No plot. No purpose. Disappointing.
PCPortia CulleyThere was no point to this movie. Zero.
JLJoLynn Lee - VJVishrut JhaJDJunkyard DBHBob Hess
- SRsheila rodsLWL. Ray WilliamsTFTina Fulgham
Metacritic
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
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.
Alison Willmore
New York Magazine (Vulture)
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).
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