JAY KELLY: 4 STARS. “a comedy about the cost of fame, tinged with regret.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Jay Kelly,” a new comedy-drama in theatres now before moving to Netflix on December 5, George Clooney plays a coddled movie star whose growing discomfort with his comfortable existence causes major changes in his life and the lives of those around him. “Are you running to something or from something,” asks Jay Kelly’s manager Ron (Adam Sandler). “Yes,” says Kelly (Clooney).
CAST: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer. Directed by Noah Baumbach.
REVIEW: A showcase for George Clooney and Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly” is a comedy about the cost of fame, tinged with regret.
When we first meet Jay Kelly (George Clooney) he’s a major movie star—think George Clooney—wrapping up one project before starting another in the next week. He’s an on-the-go-guy, surrounded by an entourage, including longtime manager Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler), publicist Liz (Laura Dern) and hairdresser Candy (Emily Mortimer), who fawn over him, catering to his every whim.
When his mentor passes away, at the funeral he reconnects with Timothy (Billy Crudup), an old friend from acting school who forces Jay to reassess his fame, his work, his entire life. “Is there a person in there?” Timothy asks. “Maybe you don’t actually exist.”
Rocked by the experience, he drops out of his next film and embarks on a journey of self-discovery to Europe, alongside Ron and the staff who have helped erect the wall between him and the real world.
“Jay Kelly” is a sharply written show business satire, but don’t expect “Sunset Boulevard,” “Tropic Thunder” or “Network.” The script, by Emily Mortimer and Noah Baumbach, does poke gentle fun at the usual Tinsel Town excesses, but this is more a cautionary tale of the price of success. “All my memories are movies,” Jay says ruefully, reflecting on his isolation from friends and family.
He’s loved by millions, but isn’t close with his daughters, Daisy (Grace Edwards) and Jessica (Riley Keough), and his friends are mostly staff. He has a movie star smile, but behind the nice guy façade, he can be cruelly dismissive of those who work with him. “You’re my friend who takes 15% of my salary,” he says to Ron, his long serving manager.
“We are not to him what he is to us,” says Liz, his publicist of thirty years.
Clooney nails the sorrow of a man who has it all, except for the things that really matter. Sauve, yet sad, he chose work and his career over all else and now searches for meaning in the relationships that sustained him for decades, even though he always put himself and ambitions first. Does Jay’s world mean anything when the price was not being able to spend meaningful time with his friends and family?
It’s not a Hollywood noir; it’s a Hollywood Melancholy.
Sandler displays his dramatic chops as the eager, puppy dog manager Ron. After thirty years of having his life upended by Jay’s every fancy, it finally dawns on his that the relationship is more one sided than he imagined. Sandler is by times in control, by times vulnerable, but he’s the glue that not only keeps Jay’s like together, but the movie as well.
“Jay Kelly” is slightly overlong, but in its exploration of what is important in life, and not just the life of a movie star, but all lives, it expertly rides the line between funny and heartbreak.
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