Many film buffs were at the announcement of a new film from the co-creator of "The Simpsons," James L. Brooks, who, after a 15-year absence from the big screen, debuts "Ella McCay" on December 12. And while the film boasts strong performances from Emma Mackey in the titular role, as well as Spike Fearn and Jack Lowden, "Ella McCay" tries to be too many things at the same time.
The title character/protagonist is an idealistic, young lieutenant governor of an unnamed American state, who, after learning that the governor is tapped to be a member of the presidential cabinet, will be thrust into the top position in the state, despite having a chaotic personal life.
Mackey does a fantastic job at portraying the stress that Ella is feeling at any given moment because of political scandals, as well as her dysfunctional family. Her frustration at the apathy or maliciousness of others is palpable when she is scolded for talking to voters for too long or being honest with the public.
While her Aunt Helen (played by Jamie Lee Curtis in the same role she's been playing for the past ten years) is her rock, she must deal with a narcissistic, womanizing father (played by a wasted Woody Harrelson) trying to force his way back into her life, an immature husband (Lowden), and an agoraphobic brother (Fearn).
Well, "idealistic" is how we're supposed to perceive Ella, but in reality, we don't really get to know what those ideals are beyond a vague desire to help people, which we never really see her do. She endlessly rants to her brother or her cabinet about her favorite social programs instead of what is pertinent in the moment, for way too long to come off as endearing or funny. None of the jokes work and are completely predictable, and Mackey's rants somehow manage to be preachy without saying anything at all, which aptly describes the film overall.
The actors do what they can with the material they have, but they can only do so much when the drama and comedy in the script don't work at all. And while being about a politician who is passionate about her job, the movie has seemingly nothing to say about politics at all beyond "we should help each other" and "politicians are human like us." The fact that Ella lives in an unnamed state and is part of an unnamed political party doesn't exactly help matters much either.
About 30% of this movie is flashbacks to Ella's high school and college days, when her deceased mother and father were together, and she was eventually sent to live with her Aunt Helen at age 16, to be away from their dysfunction. But ultimately, these flashbacks don't tell us anything that isn't relayed to the audience from dialogue in scenes set in the present. The film also makes the bizarre choice to have the 29-year-old Mackey and the 35-year-old Lowden play themselves at 16 and in their mid-30s, with an incredibly digital de-aging job and a ridiculous wig on Lowden.
Somehow, Brooks managed to rope legendary cinematographer Robert Elswit and composer Hans Zimmer into this disaster of a film, and while the film is competently shot for the most part, nothing stands out about the cinematography or music, which is the best thing I can say about the film outside of the performances.
"Ella McCay" releases in theaters on December 12.
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