George Clooney’s meta midlife crisis comedy

Noah Baumbach’s latest comedy-drama has George Clooney playing a famous movie star questioning his life choices. It might seem a little on-the-nose but Jay Kelly is easily one of the Hollywood heavyweight’s most enjoyable performances to date.

Clooney’s Kelly is heavily reliant on the constant support of his entourage, headed up by long-suffering friend and manager Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler). After an awkward encounter with an old acquaintance (Billy Crudup) goes drastically wrong, Kelly ditches his film commitments and takes off on an impromptu trip to Europe to spend quality time with his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards). However, she’s backpacking with her mates and he’s brought his entire team with him. It’s not exactly the greatest of daddy-daughter bonding trips.

It does create space for Jay and Ron to reflect on their lives and question the choices that have led them to this point though, as well as the impact those decisions have had on their loved ones. Jay is forced to confront his difficult relationship with his estranged 34-year-old daughter Jessie (Riley Keough), who he neglected after separating from her mother.

Clooney is often accused of playing himself in movies, so he’s not a surprising choice to play an elite actor but he knocks the role out of the park anyway. He’s effortlessly charming throughout, as expected, but he’s also fascinating when digging into Jay Kelly’s insecurities. The result is touching and revealing.

The supporting cast are equally good, particularly Sandler who ditches his usual comedy persona in favour of a more serious role (as he’s done before for Baumbach in the underrated The Meyerowitz Stories). It’s easy to see why Clooney has been praising his acting chops recently, with Sandler delivering one of his all-time great performances. There’s also strong support from Keough alongside colourful turns from Jim Broadbent as the director who first discovered Kelly and Stacy Keach, who plays the actor’s father in a scene-stealing extended cameo.

The superb script, co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer (who also has a small part as Jay’s hair stylist) is full of great lines as well as acute observations about identity and acting (“The better you lie, the more truthful you’ll be”). It also confidently dives into the emotional issue of parenting – not just in the scenes between Jay and his daughters but also in the parent/child-style relationship that’s emerged between Ron, Jay and his publicist Liz (an underused Laura Dern).

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to go alongside all the feelings. A meeting between Sandler’s Ron and his client Patrick Wilson plays out like a break-up, and running gags around Jay’s rider demands keeps things upbeat. At times, Jay Kelly does smack of self-indulgence but a sharp script and beautiful acting keeps it consistently entertaining. With a prevailing wind, it could even pick up some awards attention, particularly for Clooney, Sandler and Keach.

Details

• Director: Noah Baumbach
• Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern
• Release date: November 14 (in UK cinemas), December 5 (on Netflix). NME watched Jay Kelly at the Venice Film Festival

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