Jay Kelly (2025) is directed by Noah Baumbach, who also wrote the film alongside Emily Mortimer. It stars George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Grace Edwards, Laura Dern, Riley Keough, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, Greta Gerwig, and Patrick Wilson. The film follows aging A-list movie star Jay Kelly (Clooney) after he decides to join his estranged daughter on a backpacking trip across Europe. This forces his manager and best friend, Ron Sukenick (Sandler), to deal with the resulting scheduling snafus. This task soon makes him question the validity of his and Jay’s often transactional relationship. Meanwhile, Jay attempts to make up for his past, but finds that it might be too late to redeem himself for being mostly an absent father. As his personal and professional lives crumble, Jay realizes that although his life may not be perfect, he still has a whole hell of a lot to be thankful for. 

As the title character, Clooney exercises his biggest strengths as an actor. He’s charming and quirky, but effortlessly nails the character’s more profound moments. There’s a feeling he’s drawing on his real-life experiences, which adds authenticity to the character and allows the average Joe viewer to sympathize with his “isn’t being an A-list actor tough?” struggles. Clooney’s performance is fantastic, but Jay Kelly is also an uncommonly well-written character. He’s a character who could easily be unlikable because of his many flaws and natural ego, but we follow him at a time in his life when he wants to change and redeem himself. Considering that nearly everyone has something about themselves they’d like to change or improve, Jay’s journey comes across as a universal one. His core struggle isn’t specific to A-list actors, which is something I often fear with this kind of subject matter. 

As Jay’s longtime manager and best friend, Ron, Adam Sandler gives a more subtle, grounded performance than we typically see from the actor. Despite the film often focusing on the plight of an A-list movie star, characters such as Ron work to remind us that Jay’s greatness is nothing more than a manufactured aura. Baumbach seems keenly aware of the fact that Jay’s struggles are minuscule compared to 99% of normal people, so he often allows us to laugh at the character. Jay initially seems like a man with a pure mission to do the right thing, but when seen through Ron’s eyes, he often comes across as selfish. Throughout the film, we see Jay ignore the life he built to chase the one he sacrificed, which is a losing game. This all culminates in the film’s final moments, in which Ron finally confronts Jay, Sandler delivering some of the most emotionally devastating work of his career so far. 

 Although I was worried the film’s subject matter wouldn’t resonate with a viewer like me, it actually explores a handful of worthwhile ideas. For example, the film presents his job as a kind of drug. The longer the job keeps him away from his family, the more he resents who he has become, which makes the prospect of pretending to be someone else incredibly tantalizing. At one point, he even claims that playing oneself is the most challenging role.

Overall, I found this to be a funny, complex, and emotional character study from writer/director Noah Baumbach. I haven’t connected with his past work, so I was pleasantly surprised by this experience. Clooney and Sandler both deliver top-notch work, providing all the different types of pathos this story requires. It’s also surprisingly well-paced, given its dialogue-heavy approach. People who often describe movies as “slow” because they lack action or mystery won’t find much to like here, but everyone who appreciates great character arcs should enjoy the experience. B+