Directed by: James L. Brooks
Starring: Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Albert Brooks, Rebecca Hall, Jack Lowden, Spike Fearn, Ayo Edeberi
Ella McCay takes place in 2008 and feels like a throwback not just to a calmer (sort of) political environment but to feel-good romantic comedies from the 1980's. James L. Brooks wrote and directed Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, and As Good as It Gets, all three films featured harried characters who can't find time for love because life is getting in the way.
But Ella McCay lacks the life of Brooks' earlier comedies. He tries to recreate the formula and stocks it full of accomplished actors and an upbeat score by Hans Zimmer, but it's only successful in spurts while creating a villain in Ella's husband out of nowhere. With the exception of the husband and Ella's father (Harrelson), most of the people in this movie are kind and helpful. Even in 2008, the political climate wasn't this tame.
Ella (Mackey) is an idealistic woman whose family falls apart while she's in her teens. Her father is a serial cheater while her mother (Hall) stands by him even though he hurts her. Aunt Helen (Curtis) is in the picture as a loving, supportive guardian with whom Ella lives through high school and college. Ella soon marries Ryan (Lowden), who at first lives to make Ella happy, but soon as Ella ascends in her political career (more on that in a moment), he feels left out and insecure while turning into a selfish jerk who threatens to derail her career. It's a wonder Jack Lowden, who capably handles the extreme swings, doesn't get whiplash.
Ella is the lieutenant governor of New York under "Governor Bill" (Brooks), who accepts a cabinet position and thus making Ella the governor while trying to ensure her troubled younger brother (Fearn) is okay as he navigates his own life. Fearn's subplot trying to reconnect with a lost love (Edeberi) feels forced and dropped in from a nearby movie. The rest of the movie feels like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington only Emma Mackey plays Mrs. Smith. Or Albany.
No comments:
Post a Comment