Review: "Ella McCay"

James L. Brooks is a talented writer/director with an impressive resumé.  His movies include:  Terms of Endearment (1983) which earned three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, Broadcast News(1987) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

His latest comedy, Ella McCay stars Emma Mackey as an idealistic young woman trying to make the world a better place by working in the political arena.  The year is 2008.  She is a lieutenant governor who gets her big break when her boss, “Governor Bill” (played by Albert Brooks) is offered an opportunity to move up the ladder of power, giving her the chance to be governor for the remaining 14 months of his term.

It's the opportunity Ella has been waiting for, the chance to bring about positive social change.  She’s bubbly, bright and ambitious, but plagued with some personal problems stemming from some bad choices and decisions, among them, her use of a small living quarters in her office building where she has squeezed in some personal, romantic time with her husband, whom she otherwise barely has time to see.

The troublesome secret threatens her career until her husband pays off the person who wants to leak the story. The bad judgement casts a looming shadow over Ella’s life at a critical time.

Her other bad decisions include the choice of a husband who does not stand in good favor with Ella’s Aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Cuirtis) who took Ella and her younger brother Casey in during Ella’s senior year of high school, when her parents had to move to California.  Their marriage was on the verge of collapse due to her dad’s infidelity.

The turmoil of Ella’s personal life becomes amplified at the precise moment her career skyrockets.  There is pressure at every turn.  While all this angst could become the basis of some signature style James L. Brooks comedy like some of his earlier work, it doesn’t.

Ella McCay comes off as a bunch of characters desperately in search of a story.  Granted, there is a general story about Ella’s rise to power and all the emotional baggage that she drags along with her, but the script struggles to connect all the dots.

The plot elements include: Ella’s relationship with her feisty aunt; Ella’s relationship with her reclusive but successful drop-out brother, who is making a living from internet sports gambling; Ella’s shaky friendship with her mentor “Governor Bill” and lastly, Ella’s relationship with her leech of a husband, who is more interested in himself than their relationship.

The story ventures out in several directions but only manages to spin its wheels, trying to gain some narrative traction.  Among the stories within the story is Ella’s ongoing connection with wise and a bit feisty Aunt Helen.  Jamie Lee Curtis steals the show.  She’s a joy to watch.  Other veteran stars do not fare as well in supporting roles.

Both Albert Brooks (as the Governor) and Woody Harrelson (as Ella’s cheating dad) fall short of expectations with characters that are underwritten and underdeveloped. Through it all, Emma Mackey injects as much energy as she can into Ella McCay.  It’s a strong performance but a wasted effort in a movie that never coalesces into comedy.

I suspect the film’s budget prevented it from having the gloss and polish of Brooks’ earlier hits.  The movie has a strange, retro look and lacks the color and sparkle that a bouncy comedy project like this should have.  It is very dialog heavy, leaning hard on shots and reverse shots of people talking, giving it the look of a made for TV movie from a bygone era. 

It's been over 15 years since James L. Brooks’ last feature film, How Do You Know back in 2010. You would think 15 years would be ample time to write and fine-tune a follow-up project that would rival his earlier successes.  Sadly, Ella McCay plays like a movie made from an early rough draft of a screenplay that needed some work. 

On the positive side, there are some performances and moments in the movie that are worth seeing, particularly if you’re a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis or Emma Mackey.  They are wonderful together.

On a passing note, it should be said that sadly, every director has a few misfires in his or her filmography.  Chalk this one up for James L. Brooks.  Hopefully, he’s hard at work coming up with something better.  He is more than capable.