In a lot of ways, Ella McCay is just how it’s marketed to be. It’s a heartfelt and funny family comedy about a young woman who suddenly becomes governor from the legendary James L. Brooks (who is known for making movies that are impossible not to cry at). But, there’s one character turn I absolutely didn’t see coming in the latest of 2025 movie releases. So, I brought it up to stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Mackey. Let’s get into it, and yes, SPOILERS are ahead!
In the second half of the movie, it becomes clearer and clearer to not only the audience but Ella that her husband pretty much sucks. Rather than supporting her in her big promotion as we expected he might, he demands that he have his own position alongside her. And when she doesn’t agree, he betrays her by playing the victim to the public with his own (and very untrue) version of a scandal they’d been trying to hide. Here’s how Mackey reacted to what happened between Ella and Ryan in our interview:
There's that great line, that hard truth that really hit me when I saw the movie. When [Helen says], ‘I think what I've always thought is that your husband is a ticking time bomb in your life.’ You saying that and the timing of it, and you kind of braving to take that step and say it is so impactful. And it's very telling because people stay sometimes for the wrong reasons. They stay attached to a past version of their partner, their husband. And they hold onto that hope that it's gonna be okay. And when we have a value system, and we have to honor these values that we've created for ourselves in this family unit, we're trying to get going.
When we meet Ella and Ryan, they look like a perfect couple, but as the movie progresses, we start to see there’s trouble in paradise. As Jamie Lee Curtis added:
But, you’ve also chosen him for all the reasons why you would choose him. Stable family, loving unit from a broken family where that wasn’t the norm.
What ends up being the most important relationship in Ella McCay is the one between Ella and her Aunt Helen, who’s long been brutally honest about her thoughts on Ryan. The movie is a good example of the importance of familial love between women in a family that might be different than a mother/daughter relationship.
Despite Ryan’s true colors being quite dark in Ella McCay after all, Curtis and Mackey couldn’t help but gush about the actor who plays him, Jack Lowden. Curtis said it’s “very hard” to walk into a movie to play a “douchebag,” but the Scottish actor from Slow Horses “won” them all over on set.
CinemaBlend also had the chance to talk to writer/director James L. Brooks, who also offered his take on the big twist. In his words:
The big thing is, given the kind of woman she is: a smart woman. So ‘Why is she with him?’ had to be answered… They were high school sweethearts and he was never gonna want to go to college, and she was headed for all this stuff. And, it was a reason for him loving her, and the magic of that ‘You are going places and you don't even know where. And, and I'm gonna go there with you.’ So it's love. He fell in love with her. That's sort of at the core of the love. And, it backfires a little.
Due to the plotline, it certainly has something to say about ambitious women and how that may not mix well with a man who’s not confident in himself. It’s definitely a bothersome aspect of the movie, but it’s not exactly unbelievable.
Check out what critics are saying about Ella McCay, and read about the cool connection the movie funnily has with Alien: Romulus here on CinemaBlend. To see the movie, check your local movie theater.
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