Jay Kelly
Jay Kelly the movie star lives in a bubble.
“Jay Kelly” the movie lives in a bubble, too.
It's the bubble of Malibu mansions and private jets to Paris; of entourages of enablers; of hundred-million-dollar lawsuits; of magazine covers as mirrors for your face; of millions of strangers all around the world who think they love you.
Jay Kelly looks a lot like George Clooney.
Wondering whether the icon is playing a role or playing himself is the most fun part of this star-studded sentimental dramedy written and directed by Noah Baumbach. The Netflix production was gorgeously filmed from Hollywood to Italy.
Clooney just picked up a Golden Globe nomination for this glossy Hollywood version of an identity crisis … or as close as a superstar can get to one. Adam Sandler got a Globe nomination, too, for playing Jay's long-suffering manager Ron Sukenick. But it's Laura Dern who steals whatever scene she's in with either of them, playing Jay's publicist Liz.
Is Jay Kelly as great as the guys he plays at the movies? Or is he a lucky opportunist, driven from the beginning by a relentless hunger to be A Star …? Under all the superhero roles he's played, is he actually a helpless puppy who can't attend to even his most basic needs? (That's what Ron, Liz and all those bodyguards, chefs, stylists and guys with the bottled waters whenever he sticks out his hand are for.)
Is he the crusading hero on and off the screen whose charisma just grows bigger with each new gray hair? Or is he the perennially missing-in-action dad to his two now almost grown daughters, who always opted for the fame and fortune – not to mention the fun and glamor – of his career, over the love and whatever else they needed from him?
And the answer is … yes. All of the above.
It was Federico Fellini who made the world-weary artist pondering the meaning of his life a cornerstone of Italian cinema. So it feels only natural that most of “Jay Kelly” takes place in Italy. Ostensibly Jay is there to accept a lifetime tribute at film festival, but in fact he – and his “team” – have come in hopes of rendezvousing with his daughter, on a post-high-school-graduation trip with her friends.
With one impossibly gorgeous setting after another, Italy hasn't looked this delicious since Stanley Tucci paid a visit a few seasons ago on the Emmy-winning CNN series.
With his own legendary mansion on Lake Como, the project was an excuse for Clooney to work “close to home,” and spread la dolce vita to the cast and crew.
Still riding the high of “Barbie” that he wrote with his director/wife Greta Gerwig, writer-director Baumbach brings old-fashioned Hollywood sheen to his writing and directing. It's all very slick and polished … but isn't any better than Jay Kelly himself at getting beyond superficiality. The plot is a series of convenient tropes and cliches you can see coming from the opening credits.
It's an insider movie-industry comedy, a kinder, gentler answer to Seth Rogen's Apple TV series “The Studio.” It tries to lay claim to some poignant themes – Jay Kelly can't find any friends or family to share his tribute with him; his manager and publicist struggle with the question of where his life ends and theirs begin … but these concerns turn out to be about as First World as problems get.
Unlike films like “A Complete Unknown,” “Blue Moon” or “Hamnet” which do deep dives into the burden of artistic genius, “Jay Kelly” goes no deeper than the mixed blessing of stardom.
George Clooney is a hero of our times, especially for those of us who share his political leanings. His humanitarianism may be even more consequential than his artistic achievements. As a filmmaker, he is as good, and as honored, behind the camera as he is in front of it.
And in front of the camera, he has the rare distinction of being both an actor and a movie star. They're not the same thing. Movie stars basically make their livings with their faces.
Beyond acknowledging good genes, there's not a whole lot more to say about the profession.
George Clooney's greatest talent is just being George Clooney. He handles it well, with humor and grace.
That may not be enough to win him a Golden Globe … but the nomination is a good way to get him to show up for the party.
I enjoyed this film, I think, because it was personal, about the lives of the characters behind the camera and their relationships with each other and their roles. A documentary aspect. I enjoyed hearing your insightful perspectives as always. I really liked cast members Sandler, Dern and Keach.
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