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Director: Noah Baumbach
Stars: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern
Distributor: Netflix

“You didn’t spend time with me.”

Featuring at BFI London Film Festival as the Cunard Gala, Jay Kelly – from writer-director Noah Baumbach – details the journey from film set to European countryside, as George Clooney stars in the titular role, with an excellent Adam Sandler supporting him as his manager.

Opening with a terrific one-shot across a film set before and after a take, this is far from any other take on any other set, this is the finale of the latest Jay Kelly film. Jay Kelly (George Clooney) is a legitimate movie star, but now he’s getting old. Another picture complete and onto the next one. Accompanied by his often hyperactive manager, Ron (Adam Sandler), Jay is linked to an insane number of projects, leaving hardly any time for personal or family life. The latest: recipient of a lifetime achievement award that he is apprehensive to receive, at first. However, after a chance encounter with a fellow actor from his amateur years, Jay almost has a new lease of life: f*ck it, let’s go to Europe and get this award – is basically the vibe. Not only is this jet-setting jaunt an adventure for his entourage, but it serves as a challenge and journey for Jay to reconnect with his family after a lifetime of neglect.

Jay Kelly does an excellent job of showcasing: the star, the person behind the star, and the person. One of this film’s greatest strengths is its evolution of Clooney’s Jay Kelly from the star to just the person. The eventual normalisation of the individual is both quite fascinating and grounding. But this character evolution is not exclusive to Jay Kelly. Adam Sandler, who like Clooney is fantastic, presents the spectrum of overly-enthusiastic manager to Ron, who just wants a friend. Even Laura Dern as Liz the publicist, she reaches a point where the job has to take a back seat to familial life.

With George Clooney as the spectacle, there is the potential reading of Jay Kelly that this is George Clooney playing George Clooney in a tribute to his career. To an extent, this reading is true. But my god, Clooney has a lot of fun with this role. There’s always a fun notion, be it glamourous or chaotic, with films about films. Yes, these films can be disregarded as just the film industry patting itself on the back. But with Jay Kelly, the stranglehold that the film industry and stardom can have on its performers, is showcased. In the case of Jay Kelly, the price of success has cost him his relationship with his children.

Jay Kelly will resonate, negatively, with those whose parent(s) failed to be a part of one’s childhood. Jay Kelly would win an Oscar for his acting, but a Razzie for his parenting. However, on the flipside of negative resonation, there’s a truly wholesome element to this film. Jay Kelly, completely dismissing the next steps of his film career, just to pursue time to spend with his kids, is something worthwhile. In these moments he uses his film star privilege to reconnect at any means possible.

From Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly is a feel-good, often hilarious adventure where George Clooney and Adam Sandler excel to perfection in their respective roles as movie star and manager.