2
3
3
1
3
Ella McCay
-
Showtimes
-
Movie Details
We didn't find this title in your area
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
James L. Brooks' latest film 'Ella McCay' has left audiences deeply divided, with many praising its heart while criticizing its execution. Set inexplicably in 2008, this political dramedy about a woman who becomes governor has viewers either charmed by its earnest optimism or frustrated by its out-of-touch perspective and stiff dialogue.
Top Mentions
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews
Letterboxd User Reviews
2.5
20.4K
11.9K
3.7K
- 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 16, 202550 Packed Discount Tuesday screening of Ella McCay really was - pardon the pun - a movie. No less than two separate couples at different ends of the auditorium loudly repeating lines right after the characters said anything. A guy pointed out multiple scenes that were "in…
SilentDawn - 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.
davidehrlichDec 13, 2025i like to pretend 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 but it would be funny if that was the reason.
cerysDec 9, 2025I love how they had to set this over 15 years ago to incorporate an uplifting message about U.S. politics
Matt Minton - Dec 11, 2025
anxious agoraphobic son or girlboss governor daughter
vivdagoat 🍎🍂🐞Nov 19, 2025I 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 SingerDec 11, 2025I hallucinated this, I think.
Marie Bardi
Queue Community Reviews
82%
Community 1,247
Top Reviews
- Amina Malone likedElla McCay
I 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 🤷♀️
Gregory Mitchell is "meh" onElla McCayFar from Brooks’s best. Not that I mind something lighter for a political “comedy/drama” esp compared to something like “Anniversary”, but this was kind of nothing even if I like I lot of the cast
Mark Bateman likedElla McCay7/10 A lighthearted broken family film with a political outlook and values added at the end. It’s deep, meaningful and enjoyable. Recommend.
- MTMSLG is "meh" onElla McCay
Really wanted to like this but the story, the characters, the politics are just so twenty (?) years ago.
jessica likedElla McCay‘maybe we are all hamsters stuck on a wheel. worried that the kid who bought us is losing interest.’
Ash likedElla McCayI think I was supposed to know what state they were in but I never figured it out (or I missed it)
- ChuckBealGoCats dislikedElla McCay
Meh….great cast was wasted by very poor writing. Disappointed in James L Brooks here
Jonny likedElla McCayIt is enjoyable, but one time viewing kind of a new
K is "meh" onElla McCayHad to walk out in the middle of it.
Atom User Reviews
POPULAR TAGS
#great
#slow
#lovestory
#notmyfave
Verified Review
No plot. No purpose. Disappointing.
PL
Peggy L
Verified Review
There was no point to this movie. Zero.
PC
Portia C
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
Full Screen Image Viewer
Target Exclusive Showing
Don't Have The Password?