Does the power of a Hollywood movie star still exist? We live in an age where fewer and fewer big-budget films are making the money they once did and A-list actors are no longer guaranteed gold at the box office. Gone are the days of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly’ stars George Clooney as the title character – ostensibly one of the last iconic leading men working in Tinseltown. Jay has just finished a film shoot and hopes to spend his free time with his daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards), who will soon be heading off to college, before starting his next project in two weeks. However, Daisy has already booked a European outing with friends.
Knowing that he has already crippled his relationship with his eldest, estranged daughter, Jess (Riley Keough), Jay drops everything and hops on his private jet to join Daisy anyway, causing headaches for his entourage led by his old manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and his publicist Liz (Laura Dern), who are always tasked with putting out their boss’s fires.
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Adam Sandler and George Clooney in Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly’. (Peter Berg/Netflix)
Throughout the film, Jay drifts into flashbacks that reveal pivotal moments from his career as well as his deepest regrets, ranging from his acting lessons and his life-changing audition to his final bitter meeting with Jess and how he treated his elderly mentor before his death, reflecting on how he has treated friends and family. At one point, Jay comes to a sobering realization: “All my memories are movies.”
Clooney essentially plays himself: a handsome, charming, successful, spoiled actor who perhaps believed the world revolved around himself, only to face his own shortcomings as he enters his final years. We’ve seen this formula before – and done better – think of Michael Keaton in ‘Birdman’ or Sandler in ‘Funny People’. Clooney gives a fine performance, but Jay Kelly is perhaps what you would expect if you followed the real Clooney and his entourage.
What’s much more compelling are Ron and Liz, both visibly exhausted by Jay’s antics and putting a strain on their family lives. Ron gives absolute devotion to someone he considers a friend, while Liz gives Ron a dose of reality: “We are not to him what he is to us.”
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George Clooney stars as Jay Kelly in Netflix’s new showbiz drama ‘Jay Kelly’. (Peter Berg/Netflix)
Clooney may get top billing, but it’s actually Sandler who stands out, delivering one of the most emotionally nuanced performances of his career. Dern also stars as Jay’s perpetually exhausted publicist.
Writer-director Noah Baumbach – known for indies like “The Squid and the Whale” and “Frances Ha,” as well as his Oscar-nominated “Marriage Story” – expands his scale here, assembling an all-star cast that includes Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent, Stacy Keach, Greta Gerwig (Baumbach’s wife) and Emily Mortimer, who co-wrote the script.
Oscar-winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren (“La La Land”) makes “Jay Kelly” shimmer on the screen, especially with the picturesque landscape of Tuscany, while composer Nicholas Britell (best known for the “Succession” theme music) delivers a lush score to match Jay’s lavish lifestyle.
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Laura Dern and Adam Sandler in Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly’. (Courtesy of Netflix)
The verdict
“Jay Kelly” is a familiar cautionary tale about an aging Hollywood star: the production value is high, but there’s not much beneath the surface. Adam Sandler’s dramatic turn is the film’s biggest draw. Other than that, it’s forgettable.
★★ — SKIP
“Jay Kelly” is rated R for language. Running time: 2 hours and 12 minutes. In select cinemas, streaming on Netflix from December 5.
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