Jay Kelly review: Adam Sandler shines in poignant exploration of regret
Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney as the titular movie star, was one of my most anticipated films on the festival circuit this year and it did not disappoint. The great Noah Baumbach strikes again!
After wrapping a film, Hollywood star Jay Kelly hopes to spend the next few days having quality time with his younger daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards) before his next job. But he’s forgotten that she’s now 18 and has a life and plans of her own. She is going on a trip to Europe with her friends during that time. After finding out that Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent), the director who gave him his first role, has died, Jay drops out of his next job and agrees to accept a lifetime achievement award (which he’d previously declined) in Italy, in the hope that he’ll link up with Daisy in Europe.
This spur-of-the-moment plan doesn’t just affect him and Daisy though; his manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern) have to come along for the ride, once again leaving their families to serve Jay, as they have for many years. In particular, Ron has been at Jay’s beck and call for years, putting Jay’s problems above his own, often to the detriment of his personal life and his other clients.
There is a really juicy dynamic between Jay and Ron, and I was really interested in Ron’s perspective because we rarely see films that consider the manager’s point of view. Ron often has to choose between Jay and his own wife (Greta Gerwig) and children, and he has to choose Jay every time. He thinks they’re friends who love each other deeply, but when it comes down to it, Jay doesn’t care for Ron as much as Ron cares for Jay. The film may be titled Jay Kelly, but Ron is the heart and soul of the story. Sandler is so good and I really felt for him near the end.
The screenplay, co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, feels like it is inspired by their own personal Hollywood experiences, particularly the work-life balance and missing so much time with their families in pursuit of their careers. Here, Jay has been so successful that he’s always booked and busy, but he’s never at home because he’s always working, and he starts to wonder if the trade-off was all worth it. Did he make the right choice, prioritising his career instead of his family, leading to his estrangement from his eldest daughter Jessica (Riley Keough)? The film takes a thought-provoking look at regrets and what you’d do differently, in hindsight.
Many people may think that playing a movie star isn’t a stretch for Clooney because he is one, but there is some good acting here. He knows how to switch on the charm in public – I’m sure that part comes easily to him – but Jay is also wrestling with an existential crisis and examining all the choices he’s made throughout his life and career. Everyone assumes his life must be awesome and he must always be happy because he’s rich and famous. After all, what could Jay Kelly possibly be sad about? A great many things, as it turns out.
Jay Kelly is a beautifully written film that is much deeper and more moving than it initially appears. Clooney and Sandler are both excellent, and their memorable supporting co-stars Keough, Billy Crudup, Eve Hewson and Patrick Wilson deserve a shout-out too. I’m a sucker for films about Hollywood and movie stars, so it’s no surprise that I really dug this.
Seen at the London Film Festival. On Netflix from Friday 5th December