Ella McCay

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Ella McCay

PG-13

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1h 55m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

22%

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116 Reviews

57%

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250+ Verified Ratings

"Ella McCay" is a new comedy written and directed by Oscar® and Emmy Award® winner James L. Brooks ("As Good as It Gets," "Terms of Endearment," "Broadcast News," "The Simpsons") about the complicated politics that arise when a young woman's stressful career clashes with her chaotic family life.

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Critics Consensus

Well-intentioned but woefully undisciplined, James L. Brooks' comedy about a woman trying to have it all is so tonally misjudged that it winds up with not much of anything to recommend.

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Audience Says

It’s hard to stay disenchanted with Ella McCay, the woman, but as a film, it’s earnest and dated approach sabotages the seed of true rebellion it plants, which never fully blooms.

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Maxwell Rabb

Chicago Reader

Dec 29

It’s bewildering to watch, as the characters oscillate between various emotions and motivations, making it impossible to track what is going on.

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Jonathan Romney

Financial Times

Dec 16

1/5

This is a woolly, self-congratulatory fossil of a film, nostalgic for an imaginary past in US politics when an idealist’s only real obstacle was the jadedness of an older generation.

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

Dec 15

1.5/4

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.

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Sean P. Means

The Movie Cricket

4d

2/4

If Brooks is familiar with the advice given to writers, to "kill your darlings," he didn’t heed it here.

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Beandrea July

FilmWeek (LAist)

Dec 31

It felt so out of touch in such strange ways.

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Nicholas Bell

Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)

Dec 30

2/5

Who is Ella McCay? Why is Ella McCay? What is Ella McCay?

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3h

Acting was ok … plot bizarre

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1d

I enjoyed it very much

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2d

Slow, very little comedy, I have never walked out on a movie until this one.

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3d

I enjoyed the movie. There was witty dialogue and some thought provoking moments too.

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5d

Jamie Lee Curtis was great. It was a bit boring

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5d

Good clean movie, subtle humor and sweet story line.

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James L. Brooks

Director

Emma Mackey

Ella McCay

Jamie Lee Curtis

Helen McCay

Woody Harrelson

Eddie McCay

Albert Brooks

Actor

Jack Lowden

Actor

Ella McCay: Movie Clip - That Must Be Very Frustrating

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Ella McCay: Movie Clip - Break the Ice

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Ella McCay: Featurette - First Look

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Ella McCay: Trailer - Breakthroughs

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Ella McCay: Trailer - Family

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Synopsis

"Ella McCay" is a new comedy written and directed by Oscar® and Emmy Award® winner James L. Brooks ("As Good as It Gets," "Terms of Endearment," "Broadcast News," "The Simpsons") about the complicated politics that arise when a young woman's stressful career clashes with her chaotic family life.

Director: James L. Brooks
Producer: James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell, Jennifer Simchowitz
Screenwriter: James L. Brooks
Distributor: 20th Century Studios
Production Co: 20th Century Studios, Gracie Films
Rating: PG-13 (Strong Language|Some Sexual Material|Drug Content)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2025, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.0M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)