Alex is an entertainment and celebrity news journalist with experience as a writer and editor at In Touch Weekly, Life & Style, OK! Magazine, and Screen Rant. She earned her B.A. in Theatre, Film, and Digital Production from the University of California, Riverside, and has been writing about entertainment and celebrity news since 2020. When she isn’t reporting, Alex is developing her own creative projects, including short films and TV pilots.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ upcoming political comedy is already racking up some interesting reviews on social media ahead of its release. Directed by James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets), Ella McCay follows a young woman who must learn to balance work and her complicated relationships with her family after unexpectedly becoming governor of her state — but early reactions reveal that viewers have been far from impressed.
Writer and film critic Ankit Jhunjhunwala dubbed it “catastrophically terribly” as he opined on X that the flick would have been “staggeringly regressive and dated” even in the 1950s. Another user suggested none of the characters resembled or even spoke “like an actual human being.”
“It’s like it was written by someone who’s never had a real conversation. Incomprehensible filmmaking on every level: unfunny, overwritten, botched drama. One of the year’s worst films.”
A third critic on X said the comedy had been “one of the worst, most incomprehensible, baffling films I’ve ever had the displeasure of enduring,” further noting it felt like it had been “dug from James L. Brooks’ ‘IDEAS’ folder,” rather than being a fully fleshed out film that stands on its own.
In addition to Curtis, Ella McCay also stars Emma Mackey in the titular role, as well as Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Kumail Nanjiani, Julie Kavner, Rebecca Hall, and Spike Fearn.
Curious fans can see whether the movie lives up to the criticism when it hits theaters on Dec. 12.
- Release Date
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December 12, 2025
- Director
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James L. Brooks
- Writers
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James L. Brooks
- Producers
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Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai