This is a comedy/drama about the complicated politics that arise when a young woman, Ella McCay (Emma Mackey), who, as Lieutenant Governor, ends up becoming the governor as the Governor, Bill Moore (Albert Brooks) receives a position in the president's cabinet. Her career clashes with the dysfunction within her chaotic family, namely her dad, Eddie (Woody Harrelson), her aunt Helen McCay (Jamie Lee Curtis) and even her younger brother, Casey McCay (Spike Fearn). It simply becomes a balancing act between career and family where her sanity becomes at question due to her consistent stress.
Others to round out the cast are Jack Lowden as Ryan Newell, Kumail Nanjiani as head of security, Ayo Edebiri as Casey's girlfriend, Rebecca Hall as Claire McCay, Eddie's wife, Julie Kavner as Estelle and Sheetal Sheth as Audrey.
This was directed with subtlety and humor by the incomparable James L. Brooks ("Terms of Endearment" '83, "Broadcast News" '87, "I'll Do Anything" '94, "Spanglish" '04, "How Do You Know" '10) plus TV. This is a multi-faceted filmmaker whereas he is a fine actor, writer and director, where he especially shines is behind the camera--his ability to direct is phenomenal. He comes across as effortless in his ability to have his actors to 'find' that character and showcase it. He hasn't directed a ton of projects, but what he has directed is amazing. It was executed well by writer James L. Brooks ("Starting Over" '79, "Terms of Endearment" '83, "Broadcast News" '87, "I'll Do Anything" '94, "As Good as it Gets" '97, "Spanglish" '04, "The Simpson's Movie" '07, "How Do You Know" '10) plus a plethora of TV, TV movies, shorts and a video. We've all seen films that center around the dysfunction of families--it's a rather common staple with comedies or dramedies, this being one, but this one, although was a captivating story, unfortunately had a tendency to jump back and forth as the story was going from the present to the past and back again. So with this, it started to become a bit confusing. Certainly Brooks is a talented writer--he has a wealth of work, both TV and films under his belt, but this simply needed a bit more polish. A bad day at the laptop? Not sure, but suffice it say, it got a little crazy. Was it a total wash? Certainly not, most of the story line carried well and the performances particularly by Jamie Lee Curtis and Albert Brooks and Julie Kavner were the bright spots.
If you're a James L. Brooks fan, you'll like this film which definitely has his name written all over it. The direction, acting, music composed by Hans Zimmer and the cinematography by Robert Elswit, asc were incredible.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 115mins.
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