"85-year-old James L. Brooks has such an enviable track record as a TV creator (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, The Simpsons), and movie writer/director (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good as It Gets), that it's hard not to hope for the best when he makes his first feature film in 15 years. Alas, this treacly, tone-deaf dramedy centered on the travails of its titular idealist will be nobody's idea of a good time."
"Ella (Sex Education's Emma Mackey) is lieutenant governor of an unnamed state, who becomes governor when her avuncular mentor (Albert Brooks) resigns to take a cabinet position. Buttressed by a supportive aunt (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a wisdom-spouting driver (Kumail Nanjiani), while being undercut by a neglectful dad (Woody Harrelson) and opportunistic hubby (Jack Lowden), she embarks on a singularly inept attempt to do public good while also counseling her agoraphobic little brother (Spike Fearn) on how to win back his girlfriend (Ayo Edebiri)."
An aging James L. Brooks delivers a treacly, tone-deaf dramedy that centers on an earnest lieutenant governor, Ella, whose sudden rise to governor prompts inept attempts at public good and simultaneous family counseling. The film assembles an impressive cast — Emma Mackey, Albert Brooks, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kumail Nanjiani, Woody Harrelson and Jack Lowden — yet the performances cannot salvage thin dialogue and implausible motivations. Cinemas will also feature an Alia Shawkat-led military satire and a horror-fantasy from the creator of Pushing Daisies alongside franchise and prestige titles such as Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Fackham Hall, Hamnet, Wake Up Dead Man and Wicked: For Good. Atropia depicts a simulated Middle Eastern town built in the California desert for troop training.
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