James L. Brooks' ‘Ella McCay' First Reactions Call it “Brutal" and “Baffling"

My worst suspicions about James L. Brooks’ “Ella McCay” were purely based on the dreadful trailer, which made it look tonally messy, but I still wanted to see it. There’s a pull of nostalgia to this damn thing that I can’t ignore—I’ve been a lifelong admirer of Brooks’. A part of me still longs to revisit the emotional space of his best films. Sadly, it doesn’t sound like this is one of them.

Brooks’ recent output hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire (“How Do You Know”), but there’s still a genuine sense of curiosity around his return to the director’s chair. After a 15-year absence, Brooks is back with “Ella McCay,” a very milquetoast film that doesn’t cement, in any way, shape, or form, a successful comeback.

The social media embargo has lifted, and while we expect watered-down, positive takes from the first-come-first-see crowd, they haven’t taken the bait when it comes to “Ella McCay,” which is probably part of the reason why we only have a handful of reactions despite the embargo lift. Some are just keeping their mouths shut when it comes to this film. The rest? Showing their discontent. You can read the reactions below this article. The film is being described as “brutal,” “baffling,” and “incomprehensible.”

So why did 20th Century give the go-ahead to James L. Brooks’ “Ella McCay”? They must have surely read the script and known full well that this was a stinker. Brooks hasn’t been a box-office draw in years—his last film was a flop—and while Emma Mackey leads this new project, she isn’t exactly a household name. Turns out, industry chatter suggested 20th Century may have had another motive: in exchange for moving forward on “Ella McCay,” the studio wanted Brooks to commit to developing a sequel to 2007’s “The Simpsons Movie,” which was recently announced for a 2027 release. In other words, a classic case of “we’ll scratch your back if you scratch ours.”

Mackey stars as the titular Ella, a young, idealistic politician juggling personal responsibilities with a rapidly accelerating career as she prepares to succeed her mentor, an aging, long-serving governor. The cast is filled with talent: Emma Mackey, Rebecca Hall, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Albert Brooks, Kumail Nanjiani, Jack Lowden, and Spike Fearn.

Behind the camera is Robert Elswit, the Oscar-winning cinematographer who was once Paul Thomas Anderson’s go-to DP (“There Will Be Blood,” “Punch-Drunk Love”) until a well-documented falling out during the making of “Inherent Vice” ended their longtime collaboration. Hans Zimmer, who has worked with Brooks on many films, is composing the score.

Brooks, now 85, has directed only six films in his forty-year career, but when he was on, he was one of the best in the genre (“Broadcast News,” “Terms of Endearment”). The fact remains, he hasn’t made a noteworthy film in almost 30 years — that would be 1997’s “As Good As It Gets.”

“Ella McCay” has set its sights on a December 12 theatrical release.