James L Brooks directs Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis and Albert Brooks in this political comedy where a young idealistic politician’s personal life falls apart the day she is inaugurated to governor.

A very classy hot mess with some keenly witty moments but seemingly zero focus. The real buried treasure here is Albert Brooks’ seasoned glad-hander and his relationship with the titular heroine. There’s a great movie there if they dial back the noise and make the core relationship them navigating the handover. Anyway, Brooks (Albert) is pitch perfect and it is lovely to see him back for half a dozen sparkling scenes. There’s nothing too wrong with the remaining Nineties modded farce that swirls around Mackey’s (hopefully) star making performance. It is all just a bit too much. Perhaps Brooks (James L) tried to get every draft shot of the long gestating project. Using that not-quite-there-yet de-aging tech for flashback of people only in their thirties is the only true no-no. And he hits that jarring button way too many times. Strong ensemble, made for adults but still with a sense of fun, I wish we got a movie like this every month… but then I probably would score Ella McCay a little harsher. The closest movie I can compare it to is Cameron Crowe’s Aloha. Remember that one? No? It has the same fuzzy energy and I reckon if audiences had a clearer idea from the start as to what the end destination might be they’d grip onto it tighter… earlier. Both movies are worth the effort but too easy to give up on due to squirrely storytelling. Spoon feed us, for fuck sake. It is sadly essential in 2025.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Aloha (2015)