Jay Kelly

This film has the conversational dexterity and comedy of early Woody Allen films, the sadness of Lost in Translation, and the appealingly self-referential celebrity heft of Notting Hill. It is Baumbach, Sandler and Clooney at the top of their games, in a game where the audience is very much invited to play.

Could the movie have hit harder at the self-involved stars we often worship? Of course. But what makes it powerful is not the Hollywood drama. This is a movie for any of us who have missed a child’s school recital, asked an assistant to work late or skipped a family dinner because a client was running behind. It’s about time. It’s about where we choose to spend our time.

For a story of a guy who’s willing to get messy for the first time in years, it’s an overly clean piece of screenwriting, one that too often lets its A-list star play ideas instead of a character. But there’s enough to like here to forgive a film whose ambition exceeds its reach, both in some of those ideas and a flawless supporting cast, especially another fantastic turn from Adam Sandler.

Although Jay Kelly explores familiar thematic terrain of an ageing man wrestling with regret, this tender film is mildly radical in its insistence that celebrities were once just everyday people — and might still be during unguarded moments.

Sandler isn’t doing a strained meta riff on his persona; he’s playing an honest-to-God character, plagued by stress, uncertainty, and an unfashionably big heart. There’s art to his performance, and no shortage of life.

Clooney? When he has a comical moment, he makes the most of it. His attempts at heartfelt epiphany left me cold.

Cine-narcissism like this is always tiresome, and it isn’t any more palatable in a European setting.

easily baumbach’s most well-directed movie. it’s been fascinating to see the improvement of his directorial choices since marriage story and I’m happy to see him experimenting.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This was fine I guess. It had a decent message. But it seems below what your expectations would be of George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Greta Gerwig, etc. The ending could have used more exposition. I'm not sure what the viewer was really supposed to take from this aside from the protagonist could have treated people better.

painfully dull self-indulgent and mildly offensive to european train travellers even the cheesecake joke turned stale

Jay Kelly kept my interest until i realized it wasn't going to get past its delight in itself -- the movie star reflecting on his past, the cost of his success, the admission that, once achieved, fame was not to be put aside so that a full, personal life might thrive. The final and fatal moment turns on his long-suffering agent relenting and accompanying him to alife achievement award ceremony. Had the agent left, I might have reacted differently, but it didn't. Instead, it surrendered to a cliche and a boring one at that.