Title – Jay Kelly (2025)

Director – Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)

Cast – George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Laura Dern, Riley Keough

Plot – Entering into his early 60’s and reflecting on his past and movie projects, Hollywood star Jay Kelly (Clooney) and his loyal manager Ron (Sandler) head to Europe in hopes of connecting with Jay’s traveling daughter and accept a prestigious award for his career so far.

“Look at you, you’re the American Dream. The last of the old movie stars”

Review by Eddie on 12/12/2025

Jay Kelly is a “good” film, even at times a very good one but the problem with the pedigree associated with this Netflix original awards chaser is that that talent involved could’ve and perhaps should’ve given this dramedy more of a memorable boost.

A marked improvement over his last misguided directional outing White Noise in 2022, writer director (joined at the writers table here by actress Emily Mortimer) and indie darling Noah Baumbach treads into more mainstream territory than he is used to with Kelly, a feel-good reflective road trip that looks into the life of George Clooney’s aging Hollywood star as he traverses Europe with his loyal agent Ron (a reserved Adam Sandler who is doing his utmost to finally get that Academy Awards nomination).

Everything within Kelly is very pleasant, from the cast, the storytelling, the scenery, the lush cinematography of Linus Sandgren and soothing sounds of Nicholas Britell’s score but there’s also an overarching sense that Baumbach’s well-supported feature could’ve been something far more as it struggles to take the leap from enjoyable and forgettable to wonderful and memorable.

There’s an abundance of elements that feel underdeveloped in Baumbach and Mortimer’s script, the central business relationship and friendship between Jay and Ron never really takes centre stage or feels deeply explored, Jay’s family life is given snippets of context and depth but ends up being more of a tease than anything, while much of the films side plots and key instances never add up to amount to much, even if the films closing segment ends up striking a far more emotive core than you expect.

It’s an odd watching experience, as Kelly remains ever fine across its two hour plus running time but in many ways it’s stuck in first gear throughout, with viewers eagerly awaiting its next big leap or revelation.

A problem with this is that Baumbach and Mortimer seem to be telling us a story we’ve seen countless times before with a message that has been preached just as many times, with no one denying the importance of putting life and family first before ones own selfish ambitions, the familiar nature of the heart and soul of Kelly isn’t able to drive this sometimes aimless affair to the next level.

There’s every chance that both Clooney and Sandler find themselves amongst the Oscar cohort in a few months’ time, Clooney as good as his been in years and Sandler once more delivering in a more everyman role that his often undervalued in but while they’re both good, its moments such as Billy Crudup’s gripping cameo as an old classmate of Jay or Jay looking back on quiet human interactions in his fast-paced life that showcases what might’ve been had Kelly managed to move from a merely pleasant time filler to a quintessential character study/life affirming adventure.

Final Say –

Very far from a failure but equally as far from becoming great, Jay Kelly is a satisfactory Netflix original with multiple moments throughout to suggest we were right to expect more from a film with this type of talent involved.

3 Lycra clad thieves out of 5