Jay Kelly
2025
***
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher
Jay Kelly, an aging movie star, and his trusted manager Ron embark on a journey through Europe to Tuscany, where he is set to receive a career-tribute award. Jay is estranged from his two daughters, and the trip forces him to reassess the cost of success. Noah Baumbach's drama comedy is like 8½-lite - an unoriginal and somewhat self-indulgent portrayal of a movie star who takes a walk down memory lane lined with regrets. George Clooney gives a convincing performance as a character who could easily be George Clooney. The film around him needs to be shorter, less meandering, and considerably funnier.
