George Clooney is an actor approaching the top of his tether in Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly.” That’s as a result of he’s actually enjoying an actor, who right here is Hollywood-famous and adored, however with a profession on the road after a nasty run-in with a former appearing college colleague (Billy Crudup) and a strained relationship together with his daughter (Grace Edwards). The most recent film from the “Marriage Story” and “The Squid and the Whale” director opens in theaters from Netflix on November 14 earlier than streaming December 5. Watch the trailer beneath.
“Jay Kelly,” which Baumbach co-wrote with Emily Mortimer, opens with a oner worthy of Robert Altman’s “The Participant,” inviting us onto a film set as lights descend, cameras swirl in, and Jay (Clooney) is giving one other efficiency that he feels he’s phoning in. He’s obtained a supervisor who’s fearful about Jay’s profession (performed by Adam Sandler), a publicist who’s spinning out (performed by “Marriage Story” Oscar winner Laura Dern), and a bunch of different folks whose complete lives are on the road due to him and depending on him.
Jay decides to take all of them with him on a European journey in pursuit of his daughter, who’s headed to a jazz pageant, because the movie turns right into a screwball set piece on a prepare. In the meantime, Jay is up for a career-acheivement award at a pageant in Tuscany.
Clooney and Sandler are each anticipated to obtain Oscar nominations for his or her performances, with the narrative of Sandler’s overdueness merging together with his deeply felt flip, and as a earlier collaborator with Baumbach circa “The Meyerowitz Tales.” IndieWire reviewed the movie out of Venice, the place “Jay Kelly” didn’t win any awards however energized dialog nonetheless. Baumbach’s real-life associate, Greta Gerwig, co-stars on this movie as Sandler’s spouse, who’s saddled with childcare duties whereas Sandler’s character is saddled with Jay Kelly-care duties overseas.
Additionally within the solid is Riley Keough as Jay’s different daughter, this one estranged, who’s proven in flashbacks and over cellphone calls as a lady who felt aggrieved and deserted amid her father’s success. Lars Eidinger, Louis Partridge, Patrick Wilson, Alba Rohrwacher (in a scene-stealing position), and Isla Fisher are additionally among the many ensemble. Baumbach is on the hook for an Oscar win after 4 nominations, together with in 2024 for Greatest Tailored Screenplay for “Barbie” with Gerwig. It’s fascinating to see how his sensibility has broadened (and with a much bigger price range) for the reason that days of “Kicking and Screaming” and “The Squid and the Whale,” scrappy indies about neurotic New Yorkers.
Right here’s the trailer for “Jay Kelly,” which premieres on the New York Movie Competition on Monday, September 29.
