Noah Baumbach’s latest feature about an actor taking stock of his life work (and life regrets) with Clooney in his regularly suave and self-impressed swagger had its premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
“It’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself,” says Jay Kelly at the opening of Noah Baumbach’s eponymous feature. And with it it announces that as viewers we might be taken along on a journey of (self-)discovery. The protagonist is Jay Kelly… Or perhaps it’s George Clooney in another self-deprecating role that relies deeply on his charm and charisma.
Clooney… Sorry, Kelly is an ageing actor who still gets good deals in Hollywood. He is continuously working and he cannot move without being recognised. What could be his problem, you ask? The usual: he failed to be present for his now grown daughters, he feels lonely even in an entourage of employees, and he doesn’t want cheesecake served in every room he enters… Although it’s part of his rider. Tough stuff.
When the director who gave him his big break dies, he is reunited with his former acting classmate who claims Kelly stole his life from him. The classmate is almost unrecognisable Billy Crudup and he appears behind Kelly like a spectre with an unconvincing smile. The two eventually get into a fistfight after which Crudup disappears from the story. Like his character is as unimportant within the story and for the story which is at least on one level untrue.
No matter, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern are still here as Kelly’s long term assistants… But no, Dern also disappears in a huff after decades of putting her life in second place after Kelly. Luckily we’re left with Sandler who once again delivers nuance and gravitas to one of his more serious roles. But for what purpose?
Ron dedicated his life to being a glorified servant always on call for a spoilt out-of-touch superstar at the cost of his love and family life. It would be a much more interesting subject to delve into than that of his boss. A person so dulled by his abundance that it’s making him unhappy. Not a topic a lot of us can relate to.
Actually, a lot of Jay Kelly is unrelatable, since we are dealing with a character who may or may not be Clooney’s alter-ego, but who lives in a fantasy of riding a train through Italy and inviting an entire car to his event. A fantastical imagination of a much stiffer and very much segregated reality.
What is the purpose, we must ask ourselves, in Baumbach choosing this particular subject? Is it another feature inspired by his own life or is it a glorification of Clooney? Who is the movie for? Clooney’s famous pals and those whose fame prevents them from a ‘normal’ life – that in which a holiday in Italy is a lifelong dream for some and not a spur of a moment decision?
Can I go again? Is a phrase that is associated with Kelly throughout the film and it closes the movie with Clooney and Kelly pleading with the audience to have a do-over. But there’s not much in this overlong Nescafe ad, despite insistence on Clooney’s deadpan humour, that you’ll want to give a go again.
Our team is on the ground in Italy to cover the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, running from 27 August to 6 September 2025.
