Though a richly textured performance from George Clooney (even if he is essentially playing himself) and some warm support from Adam Sandler (though his overuse of the word “Papi” starts to grate) help bolster Jay Kelly, it’s difficult to entirely find a way into the universality writer/director Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, White Noise) hopes to project with this showbiz-centred dramedy of one man’s contemplation with his own legacy.

After opening the film with a title card quote from Sylvia Plath – “It’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It’s much easier to be somebody else or nobody at all.” – Jay Kelly introduces an extended shot meandering through the crew on a film set (cinematographer Linus Sandgren handing the effect quite smoothly), before arriving on the titular character (Clooney), a 60-something actor filming a scene where his canine co-star has entered prematurely; he demands another take, though the director assures him what they got was successful.

Jay is a suitably charming figure (how could he not be when embodied by Clooney?), the type that hopes to project he’s more than just his movie star persona, and though he seems relatively low maintenance in comparison to other actor types, the one-way relationship he has with both his manager, Ron (Sandler), and publicist, Liz (Laura Dern), suggests that none of his professional relationships have ever truly graduated to a sense of the personal.

When informed that his mentor, Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent) – the first director to take a chance on the then-green actor in his youth (Charlie Rowe portraying the younger Jay) – has passed away, Jay starts to reminisce on their relationship, specifically the moment he got said break and when he last saw Peter and rejected his offer to star in his film.  “All my memories are movies,” Jay laments when looking back on his life and realising he’s existed solely in a bubble of pampered comfortability, with the relationships in his life that should have mattered taking a backseat to a career. At something of a crossroads in his life, it’s those relationships that he hopes to mend.

Spurred on by an unexpectedly violent, honest confrontation with a former acting classmate (Billy Crudup providing beautifully layered work in a brief support spot), Jay – much to the chagrin of Ron and Liz – cancels his latest film appearance and plans to surprise his youngest daughter, Daisy (Grace Edwards), on her European holiday.  She has made it specifically clear that she wants to enjoy the trip without his presence, but Jay’s lack of self-awareness leads him to believe she means the opposite, so, with a resistant Ron and Liz in tow, he opts to be one with the people and forego many of his travel luxuries; well, mostly.

Between Daisy’s annoyance, a continued broken relationship with his eldest daughter, Jessica (Riley Keough), and even less of a connection to his father (Stacy Keach), the fractures in Jay’s personal life make sense as to why his memories are more aligned with his filmic work, but, in a bitter sense of irony, it’s because he chose to focus on his career that his family ties suffered.  The idea of a man of a certain age reflecting on the roads travelled (or less travelled) throughout his life is certainly a relatable facet of Baumbach’s script – co-written with actress Emily Mortimer, who has a small role as one of Jay’s entourage, Candy – and Clooney manages to elicit sympathy in the role, but its movie-centric world also keeps the story at something of a distance overall; the lack of broader relatability lends itself to a first-world-problems type mentality.

With so much star power, it’s disappointing that Jay Kelly leaves as little impact as it does. It’s an agreeable film, pleasant enough and undemanding, but at 132 minutes it doesn’t hold much weight to justify its length. Ultimately, it feels as if it’s expressing more insight than it actually is, and the vast array of subplots left underdeveloped only adds to its overall nature of disenchantment.  It’s always a pleasure to watch both Clooney flex his movie star muscle and for Sandler to adhere to a more subtle way of delivery, but, sadly, there’s little chance of either of their fine work lingering after the credits roll.

TWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

Jay Kelly is available to stream on Netflix from December 5th, 2025.

*Image credit: Netflix.