Take 48: Ella McCay
Emma Mackey is Ella McCay, an idealistic young politician who must balance her personal life, the needs of her dysfunctional family which include her estranged father, Eddie (Woody Harrleson), apparently agorophobic/younger brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and problematic husband , Ryan ( Jack Lowden.) We find although she seems to have it all together, she is still dealing with many unresolved issues from the past involving all of these close relationships which threaten her burgeoning career as newly appointed governor —- her altruistic legislative endeavors could very well fall flat before even getting started.
Prior to this film, I wasn’t familiar with Emma Mackey(who was delightful) but the rest of the cast is pretty stacked. There’s Jamie Lee Curtis as scene stealing Aunt Helen along with Woody Harrelson being Woody Harrelson. There’s also Ayo Edebiri as Susan, a surprising love interest who appears in the second half of the movie. And rounding out this band of heavy hitters is Kumail Nanjiani as Trooper Nash, hand-picked head of Governor McCay’s security detail and probably the most well-adjusted character in the movie. Good stuff indeed.
The pieces are all in place for this to be at least good, and it is. Good but not great. Although the characters are pretty well-developed and fleshed out, the story feels a bit convoluted in places and people doing dumb things is par for the course. This movie could use some editing—- before leaving the house, take something off. This one is wearing the entire closet. Fortunately, there are some good pieces in the wardrobe so definitely not a complete wash.
I really didn’t know what to expect with this one. Even though the stakes felt relatively low, it still took some swings. It’s billed as a Rom-Com but doesnt’ have an ending you’d expect from the genre, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a lot for one film though. There is an enough good here for two or three, but for what it is, it’s not bad.
My score, 7.0, Ella Okay.
Not okay with my assessment? Leave a comment. And until next time…
