Pop Commentary

Here are my top five takeaways from the new Netflix movie “Jay Kelly” and if you’re new to Pop Commentary, I review movies and TV shows to help you decide what’s worth watching.

“Jay Kelly” is about a movie star played by George Clooney who confronts his past and present during a journey through Europe with his devoted manager played by Adam Sandler.

1. My first big takeaway is that I wanted to like this movie more than I did. It was directed by Noah Baumbach who also made “Marriage Story,” which I loved. Unfortunately, that set my expectations really high and the new film didn’t quite measure up.

2. I think my biggest takeaway is that I just didn’t find the movie very relatable. It was hard for me to empathize with such a successful actor who has everything. The most relatable thing is that he regrets how he treated his daughter, but it seems like he had multiple chances to fix that relationship and chose not to.

3. I didn’t like how self-indulgent the movie was about Hollywood. The narrative and tone felt overly introspective about how tough being rich and famous is. I can get behind a film about show business if it has a fresh take, but this one just didn’t.

4. I did genuinely enjoy a lot of the performances in the film. Specifically, I thought Adam Sandler and Laura Dern were fantastic. Their scenes together were really captivating and probably my favorite parts of the movie.

5. Lastly, I’d say this is one of George Clooney’s best roles in years. He was especially good when he was acting opposite the women playing his daughters. The conflict with them seemed genuine and we got to see the main character’s personality away from the spotlight, which was refreshing.

With all that said, I thought “Jay Kelly” was fine. It was well made and there were good performances, but I found it hard to care for the main character. It’s worth watching if you like George Clooney or Adam Sandler, otherwise you could skip it.

Have you seen “Jay Kelly?” Let me know what you thought of it in the comments and subscribe to Pop Commentary for more reviews like this!