"Ella McCay" is fun and will have you feeling nostalgic. It's worth watching, despite its notable flaws and poor critical reception.

I can’t help but make Ella McCay sound incredible to everyone I talk to about it, even though that’s not my intention, and even though Ella McCay is incredible only in the “Can you believe that actually happened?

Its optimism is so refreshing, its dialogue so smart, and its characters and performances so endearing, it well rewards a watch.

Writer-director James L. Brooks all but invented a warm, urbane way of telling complex women's stories, but his first movie in 15 years feels retrograde.

Celebrated filmmaker James L. Brooks should have put the pen down before writing this extraordinarily confused story.

David Rooney of THR says he possibly speaks for most critics when he acknowledges how painful it is to lambaste the work of such a beloved titan of the entertainment industry. His hope is that Ella McCay is quickly forgotten in order to avoid tarnishing James L. Brooks’ legacy. Rooney writes:

"Ella McCay" star Emma Mackey spoke with Variety about working with James L. Brooks in honoring the Golden Age of Hollywood, and working on "Narnia."

The main action takes place over three days in 2008, in an unnamed state. An aggressively folksy Julie Kavner as narrator tells us Ella is a great person, and super-bright, and at 34, one of the youngest people to serve as lieutenant governor.