Jay Kelly review

JAY KELLY: 

GEORGE CLOONEY AND ADAM SANDLER TRAVEL TO EUROPE IN FUNNY AND HEARTFELT COMEDY-DRAMA! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

NETFLIX

Adam Sandler and George Clooney in Jay Kelly

 

            The unexpected team up of George Clooney (Ocean’s trilogy, Michael Clayton, Gravity) and Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore 1 and 2, 50 First Dates, Uncut Gems) becomes a reality in Jay Kelly, the new film from director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, While We’re Young, Marriage Story). Yeah, I was down to see this when I heard it was coming out, I love both George Clooney and Adam Sandler (Though the latter’s comedic outings can be pretty hit and miss) and Baumbach is a damn good director given his credentials. 

            The film was given a limited release in theaters before arriving on Netflix afterwards so, I went to my theater that runs Netflix movies to watch it on the big screen and…it’s a very good film! I don’t think it’s as strong as some of Baumbach’s other films like The Squid and the Whale or Marriage Story, but I laughed a fair amount of times and was captivated by Clooney and Sandler’s performances in this. 

            The film follows the titular, Jay Kelly (Clooney), a well-known actor who had just finished his most recent film and wants to spend time with his youngest daughter, Daisy (Grace Edwards-Asteroid City) before she leaves for Europe, but she has no interest and would rather go with her friends. This leads Jay to exit out of his next project and book a flight to Europe to see his daughter while his manager, Ron (Sandler) accompanies him on his journey. 

            Along the way, these two men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind. 

            The film also stars Laura Dern (Blue Velvet, Jurassic Park franchise, Little Women (2019)) as Jay’s publicist Liz, Billy Crudup (Princess Mononoke, Big Fish, Watchmen) as Jay’s former acting friend and roommate Timothy, Riley Keough (Magic Mike, Mad Max: Fury Road, It Comes at Night) as Jay’s eldest daughter Jessica, Jim Broadbent (Topsy-Turvy, Harry Potter franchise, Paddington trilogy) as Peter Schneider, Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, The Conjuring franchise, Aquaman 1 and 2) as Ben Alcock, Josh Hamilton (J. Edgar, Eighth Grade, The Long Walk) as Carter, Emily Mortimer (The Ghost and the Darkness, Hugo, Paddington in Peru; who also co-wrote the film alongside Baumbach) as Candy, Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, The Great Gatsby (2013), Now You See Me trilogy) as Ben’s wife Melanie Alcock, Jamie Demetriou (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Cruella, The Roses) as Clive, and Patsy Ferran (Darkest Hour, Living, Mickey 17) as Brenda. 

            Overall, Jay Kelly is an exquisitely filmed, funny, and emotionally rich journey through Europe that’s heightened by Clooney and Sandler’s incredible onscreen chemistry. George Clooney and Adam Sandler is probably the last team-up I’d expect to see, but they work extremely well together in this movie. 

            It’s true that Clooney is essentially doing his usual charismatic, cool guy shtick that we’ve seen in several other movies and you could argue that this entire film is one great big love letter to him and his work, but as an actor playing an actor his charm is completely warranted for this performance. Adam Sandler once again gets to show off his skills as a dramatic actor and it’s no secret that this is significantly better film starring him in 2025 (Happy Gilmore 2 was also released earlier this year). 

            While I can’t say Sandler’s performance lives up to his absolutely mesmerizing role in Uncut Gems, he brings a lot of heart as Clooney’s devoted manager who’s looking out for his talent. Most of what makes the film work is seeing Clooney and Sandler interact with each other and their dynamic together is so strong, I legitimately want to see more movies with both of them headlining it. 

            While the movie doesn’t exactly go all-out on showing Europe as much as possible and they technically didn’t shoot the France scenes on location, the cinematography is still very impressive especially the scenes when they’re in Tuscany. As mentioned before, I watched the film in theaters and there were times where I was genuinely relishing at some of these scenes on the big screen and this film even has quite possibly the most creative flashback transitions I’ve ever seen in anything, so brilliantly done. 

            This isn’t trying to be a bombastic movie about filmmaking, it’s a simple yet powerful story about two men trying to come to terms with things that happened in their lives, reconnecting with loved ones (Some of which are estranged), and learning some kind of lesson by the end through a trip to Europe. You get some laughs, some heartfelt moments, some heavy scenes, and moments that just put a smile on your face as you’re watching it; all of that applied to my viewing of it. 

            Jay Kelly is another solid film from Noah Baumbach with excellent performances by George Clooney and Adam Sandler, some beautiful cinematography, a strong balance between comedy and drama, and a deep look into the personal life of a movie star. If you’re a fan of Clooney especially then this is a required viewing because it is just as much a celebration of him as what The Fabelmans was for Steven Spielberg, I swear the movie even uses clips from other Clooney films like Burn After Reading and Leatherheads in this Jay Kelly montage of movies during the epilogue, but no Bat Credit Card.