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Ella McCay
Directed by
James L. Brooks
PG-13
2025
1h 55m
Comedy
,
Drama
5.2
23%
57%
5.5
Add to Watchlist
An idealistic young woman juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them.
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Where to Watch Ella McCay
Disney Plus
Subscription
Hulu
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Amazon Video
Buy $19.99
+5 more
Cast of Ella McCay
Emma Mackey
Ella McCay
Jamie Lee Curtis
Helen
Jack Lowden
Ryan Newell
Kumail Nanjiani
Trooper Nash
Ayo Edebiri
Susan
Spike Fearn
Casey
Julie Kavner
Estelle
Rebecca Hall
Claire McCay
Albert Brooks
Governor Bill
Woody Harrelson
Eddie McCay
Joseph Brooks
Trooper Alexander
Lincoln Whitty
Casey McCay (4YO)
Kellen Raffaelo
Casey McCay (10 YO)
Becky Ann Baker
Ryan's Mom
Kathleen Choe
Maggie (Majority Leader)
Joseph Giles
TK
Tracey Ullman
Olympia (voice)
Gary Tanguay
Baritone Senator
Shawn Fitzgibbon
State Senator
Michael Steven Costello
Chief Justice
Ella McCay Ratings & Reviews
Variety
Peter Debruge
Brooks' best quality as a writer is the way he wears his heart on his sleeve, writing characters who do the same. But there's a clunkiness here that suggests test screenings or studio notes cost the movie key exposition.
Chicago Reader
Maxwell Rabb
It's bewildering to watch, as the characters oscillate between various emotions and motivations, making it impossible to track what is going on.
Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)
Ty Burr
It is not a coherent movie, let alone a very good one, and, most depressing of all, it is a diminishment from one of the most skilled observers of the human comedy we've had.
Tribune News Service
Katie Walsh
With Brooks' latest, the deeply strange "Ella McCay," he doesn't make them like he used to either.
The New Yorker
Richard Brody
Despite the heartwarming story that's revealed, this is an anti-romantic comedy of failed males and the trouble they cause. Brooks gazes hopefully at a new generation of self-unsure men whose acceptance of weakness is their strength.
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
More than most filmmakers, Brooks has a strong sense of what he can get away with in terms of narrative.
The Travers Take
Peter Travers
A low point in the career of the legendary James L. Brooks, starring gifted actors who seem, all of a sudden in a fit of group amnesia, to have forgotten how to act.
The Atlantic
David Sims
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.
AV Club
Caroline Siede
It all adds up to a movie that isn't screwy enough to be a screwball comedy nor deep enough to be a dramedy. Ella McCay sees a bunch of people who have seemingly never met a human before attempting to celebrate the human spirit.
New York Magazine/Vulture
Alison Willmore
Ella McCay feels like outsider art - like it was made without any familiarity with the conventions of narrative structure or character beats.
Washington Post
Sonia Rao
Brooks may want us to believe Ella has a strong sense of purpose and direction, but he can't fool us into concluding the same of his film.
AARP Movies for Grownups
Thelma Adams
There are bright moments and some laughs, and the ever-brilliant Albert Brooks shines despite a truncated role. But the whole effort, alas, is overstuffed and undercooked.
NPR
Bob Mondello
That is an indisputably impressive cast, which makes it all-the-more remarkable that not one of them manages to make the film's dialogue or motivations either plausible or comic.
RogerEbert.com
Nell Minow
Its optimism is so refreshing, its dialogue so smart, and its characters and performances so endearing, it well rewards a watch.
The Reveal
Keith Phipps
The iffy de-aging effects are less of a problem than a ramshackle construction that makes it feel like the film will never get started. An even bigger problem: it never really does.
Wall Street Journal
Kyle Smith
"Ella McCay" is not quotable. It is not believable. It is not likable. It's not even digestible. For an ordinary filmmaker, it would be merely a disaster. For James L. Brooks, it's more like a tragedy.
New York Times
Alissa Wilkinson
Ella McCay is a bizarre movie that would have worked better if it went all-in as an homage to another era. Since we won't get to see that version, you'll just have to buckle up and enjoy the very strange ride.
Associated Press
Jocelyn Noveck
It's hard to understand how "Ella McCay," the first original feature from writer-director Brooks in 15 years, goes so utterly haywire. Is this really the same mind that wrote the memorable "Broadcast News"? "Terms of Endearment"? "As Good As It Gets"?
New York Post
Johnny Oleksinski
This sloppy slog is terrible; short, but interminable.
Seattle Times
Moira MacDonald
It's not at all unpleasant spending two hours with Ella and her family and colleagues, but it leaves you feeling a little nostalgic for what it could have been.
Watch Ella McCay Videos
Ella McCay
Ella McCay
Trailer
Ella McCay (Trailer 2)
Ella McCay (Trailer 2)
Trailer
Ella McCay: Special Look With Julie Kavner
Ella McCay: Special Look With Julie Kavner
Trailer
Casey McCay
Casey McCay
Behind the Scenes
Emma Mackey
Emma Mackey
Behind the Scenes
Trooper Nash
Trooper Nash
Behind the Scenes
Governor Bill
Governor Bill
Behind the Scenes
The McCay Family
The McCay Family
Behind the Scenes
Your Favorite Aunt
Your Favorite Aunt
Behind the Scenes
Woody Harrelson Is Eddie McCay
Woody Harrelson Is Eddie McCay
Behind the Scenes
James L. Brooks Laugh (Behind The Scenes)
James L. Brooks Laugh (Behind The Scenes)
Behind the Scenes
Julie Kavner Talks James L. Brooks (Behind The Scenes)
Julie Kavner Talks James L. Brooks (Behind The Scenes)
Behind the Scenes
Am I Going To Die?
Am I Going To Die?
Scene
I Wasn't Counting Your Mother
I Wasn't Counting Your Mother
Scene
We Should Do That Every Afternoon
We Should Do That Every Afternoon
Scene
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