Ella McCay

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Ella McCay

PG-13

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1h 55m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

23%

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102 Reviews

51%

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100+ 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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Jonathan Romney

Financial Times

15h

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)

1d

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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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

1d

Dated in tone and positively antediluvian in its attitudes towards women in power, this is a clunky waste of Emma Mackey in the title role and of Jack Lowden as her crowbarred-in plot device of a husband.

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Tara McNamara

Common Sense Media

12h

3/5

Writer-director James L. Brooks' imperfect 2008-set comedy is a reminder that they don't make movies like this anymore—for good reason.

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David Crow

Den of Geek

16h

2/5

Kavner worked with Brooks on the sitcom classic Rhonda, but given how inauthentic most of the characters read on screen, this stuff might better play on Mork and Mindy. I’d certainly buy a few of them are from different planets.

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Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

17h

1.5/4

Mackey is an actor I’ve really enjoyed in recent films, but Brooks has absolutely let her down with this empty, unsubstantial, purposeless work

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Darlene L

2h

Interesting entertainment

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Derrick

6h

It was slow but got better towards the end of the movie.

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Valerie S

7h

Awful. But good acting

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Angela

8h

It was a decent film

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Kathryn H

8h

Good movie, a little slow in middle but good finish.

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Bruce

9h

Left a lot of questions

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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 (Drug Content|Strong Language|Some Sexual Material)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2025, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)