Jay Kelly

 His name is Jay Kelly.

That's what he says, anyway. But for all we know, he's really George Clooney with a new name, and speaking other people's words - in this case, Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer. True, that's how it usually is in his other films, but maybe not this time.

In the final minutes of his namesake film, Jay views a highlight reel of his filmography at an awards ceremony held in his honor. And by his filmography, I mean Clooney’s actual filmography. You’re bound to recognize more than a few films here - don’t expect Batman and Robin, though. Anyway, who is Jay Kelly and why should we care about him?

Jay, much like Clooney, is one of Hollywood’s biggest superstars. According to his manager and best friend, Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler), he’s “the last of the old movie stars.” And right now, this old star’s starting to feel his age.

His younger daughter, Daisy (Grace Edwards), departs for Europe on a pre-college trip. Coincidentally, Jay was set to receive a lifetime achievement award in Tuscany, but he had Ron turn it down. He reconnects with his old roommate, Tim (Billy Crudup), at the funeral of Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent), the director who gave Jay his big break. When things go sour between him and Tim, Jay and his entourage head off to Europe to follow Daisy and get that award. Along the way, he also reevaluates his life thus far. I think that’s pretty much it.

It's an easygoing movie with a harsh runtime of 132-minutes. As you can probably tell, it's more interested in testing Jay internally, rather than externally. It makes for a lot of navel-gazing, which I understand isn’t most people’s preference. Its most substantial external conflict is Tim threatening to sue Jay for assault (yes, it went that sour). But that's all brought up and resolved off-screen. We truly start feeling the overlength by the time Ron and Jay reach Tuscany. It's probably not even that late; Jay drags out telling Ron about his scuffle with Tim for far too long (Ron finds out on his own). 

What annoyed me the most was a plot thread where Jay stopped a purse-snatcher aboard his train. True, it's nice that he did it, but it's the identity of the purse-snatcher - a cyclist (Lars Eidinger) who randomly went crazy - that annoyed me the most. He was introduced just as Jay boarded his train, and he seemed nice; if it was some random stranger, I wouldn't have this issue.

Yes, it’s pretty long to sit through - it’s on Netflix - but it’s still worth it. Jay’s pretty relatable as he wonders about the personal roads not taken, especially with his last conversation with Schneider. Ron reevaluates his own relationship with Jay, particularly after he's abruptly fired by his other client, Ben (Patrick Wilson). It's quite profound as both of them wonder if they've been driving on the right roads. This is encapsulated perfectly by the film's last words, "Can I go again? I'd like another one." Overall, Jay is a decent deconstruction of the typically smooth Clooney-type, while Ron is Sandler's most likeable and mature character ever.

Who else do we have here? Jay's entourage includes his publicist Liz (Laura Dern), his hairstylist Candy (Mortimer), and his bodyguard, Silvano (Giovanni Zeqireya), most of whom quit during the journey. Liz is the most memorable, particularly since she and Ron have shared history together. Alba Rohrwacher is pretty likable as Jay's Italian tour guide, also named Alba, while Stacy Keach is pretty entertaining as Jay's dad. Charlie Rowe, as the younger Jay, isn't a dead ringer for Clooney, but he's got his confidence. Crudup's performance as Tim runs the gamut from chill to threatening to pathetic in his one major scene. Amongst Ron's family, the best is the uncredited actor playing his son, who's entertainingly annoying. 

Finally, let's talk about its presentation. Jay literally walks into his own flashbacks, which is both technically impressive and persistently surreal. In one scene, he's calling Jessica in a forest, and suddenly, she's there beside him! In an earlier one, he opens up a train car and steps into an old movie set. It's opening oner across a soundstage is pretty mundane, but still cool, compared to these scenes. The Italian scenery is splendid, as you might expect. On the soundscape, Nicholas Britell's score perfectly accentuates the film with abundant sentimentality. Yeah, I think I said enough.

No, really, I think I said enough. If you've got the patience, check this movie out. It might make for great company on a slow day. It might give you a few things to think about. It certainly did for me.