Review: Ella McCay

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

On the one hand, it's great to see that James L. Brooks is stepping behind the camera again. The director - whose best work includes "Broadcast News," "Terms of Endearment," and "As Good As It Gets" - hasn't made a feature film in 15 years. 

But it's also unfortunate that his first film in so long, "Ella McCay," never really comes together in a satisfying way, despite having such a solid cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Albert Brooks, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Rebecca Hall, Julie Kavner, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emma Mackey as the titular character.

McCay is an overachiever and the current lieutenant governor of her home state - which is kept sort of nebulous - who suddenly finds herself thrust into the spotlight when the current governor (Albert Brooks), her mentor, is chosen for a cabinet position with the incoming president. 

As McCay becomes the governor, she is faced with a whole lot of problems - mostly of the personal variety - as she attempts to get her agenda in order. Meanwhile, we get numerous flashbacks involving her estranged father (Harrelson), a philanderer who now begs her forgiveness, as well as her eccentric younger brother and the aunt (Curtis) who helped to raise her after her mother (Hall) died.

Then, all hell breaks loose when Ella's shady husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), finds himself mixed up in a payoff scandal and, to make matters worse, attempts to extort his wife for power in her new administration, threatening to do even worse things if she doesn't agree to his demands.

One of the biggest problems with "Ella McCay" is that it positions its lead character as a hard working, overachieving person who isn't great at fundraising - as Brooks' character was - or connecting with people on a personal level, but who has the drive and passion to see things through (in this case, it's a bill that benefits women with young children).

And yet, the film - which is supposed to depict McCay's first few days in office - finds her doing nothing but being bogged down in personal problems all day long. When she's not trying to fend off Harrelson's pleas for reconciliation or dealing with the machinations of her sleazy husband, she's mostly slumped on the couch of her awkward brother (Spike Fearn), occasionally stoned, and trying to deal with his big emergency: He hasn't left the house much lately and has romantic troubles.

By the time we get to the point that the state legislature wants to force her out of office - for the scandal involving her husband trying to pay off a reporter not to publish a story about how he and Ella sort-of accidentally used an apartment considered state property for their sexual rendezvous because she was too busy to spend time at home - it's not hard to see why, though for different reasons - she hardly seems to be doing the job.

One thing that "Ella McCay" seems to understand about politics is how a scandal can quickly metastasize and overwhelm a public figure. But it doesn't seem to understand much else. We hear early on that her approval rating upon entering office is 81 percent (something that in our polarized country sounds like pure fantasy) and her dealings with other elected officials and the media feel like a somewhat dated Hollywoodized version of the world.

There are some amusing moments, mostly due to the talents of the cast, especially Harrelson and Curtis. Then again, there are some painfully awkward sequences - especially one in which Fearn and Edebiri come to terms with their failed relationship. 

Some of Brooks' previous movies - "Terms of Endearment" or "As Good As It Gets," for instance - managed to be funny, witty, and warm all at once, while others ("Broadcast News") were sharp and insightful. While it's great to see Brooks back at work as a director, this is unfortunately one of his lesser efforts.