Movie Review: ‘Jay Kelly’

In Theaters on limited release on November 14 (before landing on Netflix December 5), ‘Jay Kelly’ is the new movie from Noah Baumbach, who tends to specialize in putting his characters into emotional crisis.

​In Theaters on limited release on November 14 (before landing on Netflix December 5), ‘Jay Kelly’ is the new movie from Noah Baumbach, who tends to specialize in putting his characters into emotional crisis.   

In Theaters on limited release on November 14 (before landing on Netflix December 5), ‘Jay Kelly’ is the new movie from Noah Baumbach, who tends to specialize in putting his characters into emotional crisis. Here, he’s turned his attention to Hollywood.

The new movie stars George Clooney (‘The Ides of March’), Adam Sandler (‘Happy Gilmore 2’), Laura Dern (‘Marriage Story’), Billy Crudup (‘Almost Famous’) and Greta Gerwig (‘Barbie’).

Related Article: George Clooney and Adam Sandler to Star in Noah Baumbach’s New Movie

Initial Thoughts

Noam Baumbach’s movies usually find characters at some sort of dramatic crossroads –– the marital fireworks of ‘Marriage Story’ or the family dynamics of ‘The Meyerowitz Stories.’

‘Jay Kelly’ is no different, even if the crises seem less urgent when focused on a wealthy movie star whose biggest issue is that his youngest daughter is about to fly the nest and he’s also reconsidering his life and career in the light of his mentor’s death.

Script and Direction

Baumbach in some ways feels like he’s on autopilot here, the story (he co-wrote the script with Emily Mortimer, who has a small role in the movie) fueled by some very familiar beats and feelings. This is a plotline we’ve seen done before and, honestly, better.

Oddly, the real story, and the one that is much more compelling is between Sandler’s Ron and Dern’s Liz, Jay’s longtime manager and publicist, who have their own history and find themselves seeing their relationship complicate despite Ron’s seemingly happy marriage to Greta Gerwig’s Lois.

Baumbach keeps the direction mostly light on its feet, though some repetitive touches (such as Kelly’s rider containing cheesecake he doesn’t even like) weigh things down.

And the use of clunky flashbacks to explore our hero’s conflicted feelings doesn’t help.

Cast and Performances

Clooney brings his considerable star wattage to the title role, and is always watchable. It’s just an issue that the role never breaks free of a basic movie structure.

Sandler and Dern are superb in their supporting roles that have more nuance and flavor to them, while Greta Gerwig is also great as Sandler’s character’s wife.

Final Thoughts

‘Jay Kelly’ is far from Baumbach’s best, even with the cast giving their all. It’s emotionally formulaic, but wanders along amiably enough that you won’t be insulted you gave it a shot.

‘Jay Kelly’ receives 65 out of 100.

What’s the story of ‘Jay Kelly’?

The film follows famous movie actor, Jay Kelly (George Clooney), as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler).

Who is in the cast of ‘Jay Kelly’?

George Clooney as Jay KellyAdam Sandler as Ron SukenickLaura Dern as LizBilly Crudup as TimothyRiley Keough as Jessica KellyGrace Edwards as Daisy KellyStacy Keach as Mr. KellyJim Broadbent as Peter SchneiderPatrick Wilson as Ben AlcockGreta Gerwig as Lois Sukenick

Other George Clooney Movies:

Buy Tickets: ‘Jay Kelly’ Movie Showtimes

Buy George Clooney Movies on Amazon

 Movie Reviews RSS Feed