Ella McCay (2025)

A decent film about a young woman with political ambitions who gets a chance to rise to the top. Certainly not James L. Brooks' best film, but not bad either. The story goes in too many directions and lacks focus. It remains entertaining, however, thanks to the flashbacks and the excellent cast.

Translated from Dutch · View original

It's Bridget Jones Diaries meets Alley McBeal, but with a kind of hyper-nervousness. It doesn't reach the level of the two mentioned, but it's there to place it somewhere. The dialogue comes across as a kind of forced, super-intense. And that makes the film fun. It's hard to describe. You have to be into it, but it grabbed me. A sort of chaos and yet innocence, hard-hitting politics and yet humanity. Not machines, but people with feelings and ideals they believe in. Yet, it all remains presented in a lighthearted way.

Despite the high political position of governor, it appears that there is still quite a lot going on in the background.

Other roles are somewhat superficial, but the scene with the brother and his date is hilarious. The brother acts at least as well and, as far as I'm concerned, deserved a bigger role. Just as her father, in my opinion, deserved a bit more screen time. With the brother and father, there was more potential to lift the film up just a little bit higher.

Otherwise, I did enjoy it. And maybe, like with Bridget Jones, this isn't the only film, and there will be sequels where the brother and father feature a bit more?

These roles are indeed played by established names in the acting world and, as far as I am concerned, well-chosen: Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson.

And Emma Mackey does her best to come across as a crowd favorite, just like Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones. As far as I'm concerned, she has succeeded to some extent.

3.5*

Translated from Dutch · View original