It’s hard to say exactly how many classic Hollywood movie stars we still have today, but George Clooney is definitely one of them. And it’s for that exact reason that he feels perfectly cast in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, a charming and sentimental drama about the price of fame and the weight of legacy, told through the lens of an aging movie star.
Although Jay Kelly sometimes feels quite indulgent and self-congratulatory with its exhaustive monologues and snappy dialogue, Baumbach’s film generally does a great job of creating the very same Hollywood charm that its characters spend so long trying to recapture. With its sweeping orchestral music, lovable characters, and inspiring message of hope and compᴀssion, Jay Kelly is a very hard film to dislike.
At least for the first hour, Baumbach’s latest feature offers a very engaging and absorbing story. Hollywood star Jay Kelly, overcome with regrets about his career and his legacy, travels to Europe to reconnect with his teenage daughter. As the film progresses, however, Jay Kelly unfortunately spins its wheels and is unsure of exactly how to make the most of these compelling ideas.
Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly Screenplay Has A Very Touching Message
With acclaimed screenplays like Frances Ha and Marriage Story under his belt, there was never any doubt that Noah Baumbach knows how to write complex, endearing stories that connect with audiences. Jay Kelly is somewhat of an outlier in his filmography. It’s much less of a relatable drama and more of a distant, intentionally out-of-touch story about fame and isolation.
Jay Kelly is a fascinating character. On the one hand, his outgoing personality and ability to get along with anybody in the room make him the purest ideal of a movie star; somebody whom everyone wants to be. But on a more fundamental level, he’s a man who’s forgotten the value of privacy, idenтιтy, and family. Baumbach’s screenplay does an excellent job of methodically mapping this journey of self-discovery.
Like a cinephile’s twist on “A Christmas Carol”, Jay Kelly thrusts its protagonist through an idyllic landscape of memory and regrets, teaching him (and the audience) the lessons that he missed the first time around in life. It’s a very mature step for Baumbach, who uses the film as a mouthpiece to discuss the struggle of balancing fame and success with that which really matters: family.
Jay Kelly Takes Too Long To Reach Its Moving Conclusion
Jay Kelly gets off to a really strong start as the film dissects these characters with rigorous precision, and comes to an equally moving conclusion that truly rewards that emotional investment, but the road between these two heights is admittedly rocky. It sometimes feels as though Baumbach is using Jay Kelly as a playground of ideas; its themes are dense and powerful, but not always fully deconstructed.
By 90 minutes, Jay Kelly has said everything it’s going to say. The final act, with the exclusion of the film’s ultimate scene, retreads many of the same ideas that have already been explored throughout the film. Thankfully, the film’s electric performances and Baumbach’s spectacular direction are enough to distract the audience while it’s happening. But when the credits roll, it’s clear enough something is missing.
Baumbach delivers a very interesting examination of parenthood, and the ways by which fame can obscure the traditional family dynamic, but it lacks the narrative bite and longevity of something like Marriage Story.
Jay Kelly is a very accessible film. It’s a story that audiences will be able to sit through without ever getting bored, but it doesn’t always succeed at being more than that. Baumbach delivers a very interesting examination of parenthood, and the ways in which fame can obscure the traditional family dynamic, but it lacks the narrative bite and longevity of something like Marriage Story.
Jay Kelly Is Filled With Pitch-Perfect Performances
Thankfully, Jay Kelly’s lead performances are strong enough to overlook many of the film’s narrative and pacing flaws. George Clooney is perfectly cast in the lead role; he effortlessly walks the line between actor and character, with his charming performance matching eerily with his real-life persona.
This, in conjunction with the film’s usage of other real-life Clooney films to pad out Kelly’s fictional catalogue, makes it clear that Clooney isn’t solely playing a character here. Much like Baumbach, a huge amount of his real life has been injected into this story, and that proves to be a very effective way of making Jay Kelly feel both three-dimensional and heavily self-reflective.
Adam Sandler and Laura Dern also deliver two brilliant performances, even if the film doesn’t always take full advantage of them. Their characters are essential to understanding Clooney’s protagonist from a different angle, deconstructing the idealized version of himself that he sees in the mirror.
Jay Kelly is a very moving, sentimental film that succeeds effortlessly at telling a great story, but whose attempts to go thematically deeper often feel repeтιтive.
They bring such warmth and charisma to the film, and it’s the scenes in which Jay Kelly drifts away from their characters to focus more exclusively on the protagonist that Baumbach struggles to keep up with his own momentum. Ultimately, Jay Kelly is a very moving, sentimental film that succeeds effortlessly at telling a great story, but whose attempts to go thematically deeper often feel repeтιтive.
