New Disney Movie Branded One of the Year’s Worst After Brutal Audience Reactions
Early reactions to Disney and 20th Century Studios’ political comedy-drama Ella McCay are brutal, with critics branding it one of the year’s worst and citing a laundry list of misfires.
James L. Brooks is back with a new movie, and the early word is... rough. Disney and 20th Century Studios screened the political comedy-drama 'Ella McCay' for press this week, and the first reactions landing online are overwhelmingly negative, with a lot of the heat aimed at the writing and tone.
"#EllaMcCay is a lesson in everything NOT to do in a movie."
- Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon
That pretty much sets the tone. Several early viewers piled on in a similar vein: the dialogue is getting slammed as overwritten and painfully on-the-nose, the narration is being called pointless, and more than one person said the characters do not speak or behave like actual humans. One reaction likened the experience to trying to have a conversation with a concussion. Multiple critics flat-out labeled it one of the year’s worst, and a few expressed shock that this came from Brooks, the filmmaker behind 'Terms of Endearment,' 'Broadcast News,' and 'As Good as It Gets.' Another gripe: even though the story is set in 2008, the movie still feels like an antique rather than a contemporary piece.
So what is this thing? 'Ella McCay' is a political dramedy about a 34-year-old lieutenant governor trying to juggle family drama and a demanding job while preparing to step into the governor’s office. Her mentor, the long-serving governor, abruptly accepts a cabinet post in the incoming Obama administration, creating a power handoff that forces her into the spotlight fast.
- Writer-director: James L. Brooks, making his first feature since 2010’s 'How Do You Know'
- Studios: Disney and 20th Century Studios
- Producers: James L. Brooks, Julie Ansell, Jennifer Brooks, Richard Sakai
- Executive producer: Seth Meier
- Cast: Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Julie Kavner, Spike Fearn, Rebecca Hall, Albert Brooks, Woody Harrelson
On paper, that lineup should be a layup. Instead, the conversation right now is all about clunky dialogue, mismatched tone, and a veteran filmmaker who, according to early reactions, hasn’t found his footing with this material. It’s a surprising turn for a Brooks comeback and an undeniably buzzy start for a movie that just entered the chat for all the wrong reasons.