Jay Kelly

It seems that it is difficult finding Hollywood stars like the old school actors into modern days. How many young actors can you say reach the same stardom level as legendary actors such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Mel Gibson, Jack Nicholson, Sigourney Weaver and many others? That´s not me saying there are no good young actors out there, i know there are several very talented young actors. But it´s not difficult to see that a lot of young actors really have to work hard to become just as iconic ators as the legends we grew up watching on the big screen. But we do have actors who started off not being that good actors. Just look at Hollywood actor George Clooney, how many remember his earlier films such as Return To Horror High, or perhaps Return Of The Killer Tomatoes? Terrible but at least charming low budget B movies. Since then he have made mostly good films ( except Batman & Robin of course back in 1997 ) and some really good films. One of my personal favourite films outside of From Dusk Till Dawn that came out in 1996, i highly recommend the 2009 comedy-drama film Up In The Air from director Jason Reitman ( son of legendary director Ivan Reitman, who directed the 1984 classic Ghostbusters ). This is a very charming film where George Clooney plays the character Ryan Bringham. He works for a human resources consultancy firm specializing  in employment-termination assistance. Since he have a lot of different companies to visit, he flies constantly across America and never celebrate holidays at home with family, or other events. But things are about to change when his boss, Craig Gregory ( Jason Bateman ), decides that Ryan need to learn a new employee named Natalie Keener ( Anna Kendrick ) how to do this job professionally, as they travel together. A very simple but really well made film with excellent performances, worth checking out on streaming. Speaking of George Clooney late last year he released his latest film Jay Kelly, a Netflix comedy-drama which also stars Adam Sandler ( who is absolutely brilliant in the Netflix film Uncut Gems ), Laura Dern, Patrick Wilson and many others. i have actually not seen many reviews of Jay Kelly online which is fascinating, considering this film have a really good cast. Is this a must watch this spring, or is Jay Kelly unfortunately a waste of your precious time?

Jay Kelly ( George Clooney ) is a big Hollywood star with a long list of box office hits in his career. He have everything you could wish for, 2 beautfful daughters, a wonderful house, get to travel all over the world. But in his real ordinary life he feels like something is missing. He loves his big fan base, while his private life is suffering and he feels he need to fix some things. Is it possible Jay Kelly can find a good balance between career and his private life?

When i noticed that this film Jay Kelly is directed by the same man who directed the 2005 powerful comedy-drama film The Squid And The Whale, ( definetely worth a watch on streaming or physical media ), i was really hoping director Noah Baumbach would deliver something charming to the audience with Jay Kelly. And let me be clear about somerthing, if you really want to enjoy this film then you should probably enjoy old school Hollywood films. What do i mean by that? Well, this film basically show us into the world of actor Jay Kelly as he have worked on so many films, how he function in the movie industry, how he lives his lifestyle and the choices he makes. This is pretty much almost like a biographical film or a character that doesn´t exist and yet we get to follow his career and private life. This is not the first time this have been done before, but i will say i feel that Jay Kelly manage to capture the true spirit of Hollywood that i used to remember at the thetatres. All the amazing sets, all the people working behind the scenes, the discussions about different ideas for a film. It is all here in Jay Kelly and i have to say the idea works well with these characters. Lead actor George Clooney as Jay Kelly is of course very charming and he may have aged, but he still knows how to give a really solid performance and knows how to develope his character. I also enjoy seeing George Clooney portrait Jay Kelly as two different individuals, you have the Hollywood star but then you also have his rough past still floating around his private life. Actor Adam Sandler proves once me he knows how to act good with the right character, and actress Laura Dern is of course a perfect match for this film. Jay Kelly really show how important it is to appreciate the small things in life, not the luxuary house or an expensive car. Caring for your family and learning how to become a better person, and these are some points where Jay Kelly hits right specifically. Director Noah Baumbach have made a film that feels like a tribute to the Hollywood we used to see on the big screen, and i foung myself enjoying this film. Worth a watch on Netflix for sure, especially if you loved George Clooney in Up In The Air.

Rating: DDD