![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/6932f1a0260000cc39836408.jpg\")
Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick and George Clooney as Jay Kelly in “Jay Kelly.”<\/p>\nWho better to star in a meta-fiction film about the perils of fame than A-list movie star George Clooney?<\/p>\n
In a way, the charismatic Clooney is the perfect actor to lead Noah Baumbach\u2019s \u201cJay Kelly,\u201d a sentimental drama about an aging screen star who embarks on a sweeping European expedition to solve his personality crisis. In the film, the charming titular character, like the man who portrays him, has reached the highest heights in his industry, but he\u2019s feeling rather low about the fact that the only thing he has to show of his accomplished life is a bountiful filmography that\u2019s made him beloved around the world (\u201cAll my memories are movies,\u201d he says).<\/p>\n
Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick and George Clooney as Jay Kelly in “Jay Kelly.”<\/p>\n
The same can\u2019t be said about Jay\u2019s personal life, though. He\u2019s distant from his two grown daughters, Jessica (Riley Keough) and Daisy (Grace Edwards), after prioritizing work for so many years, and his closest friends are those on his payroll \u2014 including his longtime manager, Ron (Adam Sandler), and publicist, Liz (Laura Dern). The exception is Jay\u2019s mentor, Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent), whose funeral brings an old friend back into his life: his former acting bud, Timothy (played by a very good Billy Crudup), who still holds a grudge over Jay seemingly stealing his big break and a life of stardom.<\/p>\n
A fateful confrontation between the two sends Jay spiraling about the choices he\u2019s made in his life. His solution? Why, an extremely last-minute trip to Italy to find his daughter and accept a tribute he previously turned down from a film festival. Never mind the new movie he already agreed to shoot, the result of Ron pulling so many strings. The latter and Liz unwillingly join Jay\u2019s trip to keep an eye on him, but, of course, that doesn\u2019t go according to plan.<\/p>\n
The rest of the movie follows Jay\u2019s aimless travels \u2014 which involve an adventurous train ride to Tuscany (and a headline-making hero moment after he stops a purse robbery), rumors of a shocking street fight (which almost leads to a lawsuit) and some surreal soul-searching in the woods \u2014 though it\u2019s not as compelling as the movie wants you to think. In fact, as cathartic as Jay\u2019s journey to self-discovery sounds, it\u2019s a bit too buttoned-up to make its emotional weight feel believable.<\/p>\n
Sure, there are flashbacks to a disgruntled Jay dismissing Jessica during a surprise therapy session, which helps explain their estranged relationship and why the movie star so desperately wants to fix it (even if his solution is flying his daughter out to watch him accept a tribute that reminds her of his absence). And there\u2019s something slightly heartbreaking about him wanting to cherish his last summer with Daisy before she\u2019s off to college, even when she\u2019d rather country hop with her beau.<\/p>\n
But even with all those revelations, \u201cJay Kelly\u201d isn\u2019t a splendid movie because of Jay\u2019s physical and emotional voyage \u2014 what ultimately saves the movie is Sandler, delivering another career-best performance as the exhausted and overworked Ron, who has busted his ass for years for Jay with very little reward.<\/p>\n
In many ways, his journey in the movie parallels Jay\u2019s, as he, too, often leaves his family behind for work (including bailing on a family vacation to babysit Jay on their Italian trip). The married man also had a once-serious fling with Liz that never quite became official, which he\u2019s forced to grapple with as another loss in his life. Throughout the film, you can see these burdens weighing on Ron\u2019s spirit, a spirit Sandler portrays with complexity and depth. When he finally reaches his last straw with Jay, Sandler makes you buy into the stirring performance he\u2019s absolutely selling.<\/p>\n
Ron\u2019s breakdown is actually what makes Jay\u2019s epiphany at the end slightly worth it. The weightlessness of the film still doesn\u2019t convince you that he\u2019ll actually change his ways after realizing what a tool he\u2019s been to his loved ones. However, the tear-jerking moment he and Ron share at the tribute \u2014 watching a slideshow of Jay\u2019s many films, a symbol of all their dedication and hard work together \u2014 makes for a powerful ending, even if it is manufactured.<\/p>\n
\u201cJay Kelly\u201d is streaming now on Netflix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who better to star in a meta-fiction film about the perils of fame than A-list movie star George…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[16763,88,24194,206,217],"class_list":{"0":"post-335229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-adam-sandler","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-george-clooney","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-netflix"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}