Ella McCay is a somewhat clumsy film The transformation into a meme makes perfect sense, in fact

If you hang out in cinemaTwitter circles, you might have seen a few weeks ago the meme of Ella McCay - Perfectly Imperfect, a film written and directed by James L. Brooks and starring Emma Mackey. On the movie poster, which has been available on Disney+ since February 5, we see our eponymous protagonist adjusting a high-heeled shoe, one leg lifted toward her hand, as she walks head down toward the camera, clearly in a hurry, caught in the middle of handling a problem. The image, meant to convey her indomitable will to keep moving despite setbacks, became a challenge, with international viewers - after going to see the film - imitating her, photographing themselves in the same pose, and posting the pictures on social media.

Ella McCay: the plot of the film available on Disney+

Why all this irony? It's simple. Because the film is funny and awkward, at times quirky. The story is fairly straightforward: with a sexually controlling father, a submissive mother, a socially challenged brother, and an overdeveloped sense of duty, Ella McCay is young, promising, and frankly a bit of a bookworm. She works in politics because she believes it’s the only way to do good, and she refuses to compromise her principles. Into this already complex equation enter: the governor’s position she inherits when her boss is promoted, and an opportunistic husband with no moral integrity and a manipulative mother. The only person she can trust? Aunt Helen, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. A constantly present aunt and trusted advisor who, however, can only react to things like a cartoon.

What works and what doesn’t in the film

When I started seeing the memes on social media, I couldn’t help but think they were gratuitous, aimed at a film where a positive protagonist doesn’t give up her integrity despite everything. In reality, it’s not quite like that. Ella McCay - Perfectly Imperfect is a slightly naive, simple, and somewhat outdated film. Unfortunately, because all the good intentions were there, they just needed some refinement. The characters are exaggerated and sketchy, the dialogues feel like they were taken from various commercials (or comedic sketches) taped together with scotch tape. The only relationship with any depth is that between Ella and her brother; the rest seems scribbled on a napkin at the local bar.

Words from the director of Ella McCay - Perfectly Imperfect

The director stated: "My goal with this film was to pay homage, as much as possible, to the golden age of cinematic comedy, the 1940s and '50s... The challenge was to maintain the same crazy spirit of that era while taking seriously the inevitable shocks, pains, and pitfalls of being human." It would be nice if this were enough, but while acknowledging this intention and its influence on the film, something doesn’t work. Ella McCay remains a character more suited to an afternoon movie on Italia 1, perhaps more fitting for a middle school classroom than a cinema theater. What remains admirable is her strength and integrity, which drive her to seek another way to do good in the United States in 2008.