George Clooney (left) and Adam Sandler in 'Jay Kelly.' Netflix Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Noah Baumbach's best work is invariably personal. Though none could be called strictly autobiographical, films like The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story, Frances Ha and The Meyerowitz Stories all bear the unmistakable signs of lived experience - of family, marriage, parenthood, friendship or milieu. It's possible that in his latest feature, Jay Kelly, co-written with Emily Mortimer, the pampered Hollywood star and the selfless manager who always puts his client's needs first are versions of industry professionals Baumbach has encountered. But only faintly possible. Mostly, they seem like made-to-measure components of a bittersweet buddy movie that overloads on saccharine. Related Stories Movies 'Bugonia' Review: Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons Battle Over Doomed Humanity in Yorgos Lanthimos' Loopy Dark Comedy About Our Planet in Peril Movies 'Orphan' Review: 'Son of Saul' Director László Nemes Draws on His Father's Childhood in Sluggish but Ultimately Poignant Postwar Drama That's not to say Jay Kelly isn't at times witty and entertaining. George Clooney's megawatt charm makes it easy to warm even to a guy like the title character. He has everything and yet suddenly realizes his life is virtually empty; his celebrity-bubble existence has left him out of touch with how the rest of the world lives while nudging the people about whom he's supposed to care most to the margins. Poor Jay. Jay Kelly The Bottom Line More often distancing than disarming. Venue: Venice Film Festival (Competition)Release date: Friday, Nov. 14 (theaters), Friday, Dec. 5 (streaming)Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick WilsonDirector: Noah BaumbachScreenwriters: Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer Rated R, 2 hours 6 minutes As much as we can be amused by his dark spiral of self-discovery, seeing this dashing silver fox flashing his perfect smile or gazing out from a billboard caressed by spotlights makes it hard to invest much in his problems. That image, oozing old-Hollywood glamour like a modern-day Cary Grant, almost makes the majestic Renaissance beauty of a town piazza in Tuscany look drab - figuratively speaking. To be fair, nothing in Linus Sandgren's fluid and inventive cinematography looks drab. Difficulty caring is not a problem with Jay's devoted manager, Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler), the main buffer between his top client and the world. He's permanently on call for matters both pressing and trivial, stepping in to fix whatever situation arises so that Jay never has to be concerned. The unforced poignancy of Ron's emotional arc gives the shallow movie some much-needed heart. Ron comes to realize that his fulltime commitment to Jay has nullified his own needs, making his family feel like second-class citizens, especially his justifiably impatient wife Lois (Greta Gerwig). Ron is probably Jay's only real friend, and yet the actor puts a glib spin on their bond when he tells his manager: "You're my friend who takes 15 percent of my earnings." Reducing their relationship to its transactional bones is a low blow that hurts Ron and underlines their inequality. The movie opens with a Sylvia Plath quote: "It's a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It's easier to be somebody else or nobody at all." At its core, Jay Kelly is about a cossetted man taking on that responsibility after decades of enabled complacency wrapped up in movie-star charisma. The introspection starts kicking in as he wraps a shoot, a final day captured by Sandgren in a virtuoso single take that opens the movie - perhaps an homage to Robert Altman's epic oner at the start of The Player. The camera winds through a studio, taking in the village of people required to make the production's wheels turn, before arriving at Jay as he shoots his last scene. It also serves as a declaration of love from Baumbach to the chaotic collective process of filmmaking. With two weeks until his next project, Jay intends to spend the time with his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards) before she goes off to college. But Daisy, who seems accustomed to making plans without her dad's input, is heading to Europe with friends to catch a jazz festival in Paris and then drive to Italy, making it clear she does not want Jay tagging along. While he's still pouting about Daisy's rejection, Jay's equilibrium is shaken by the death of his mentor, the director Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent), who gave him his breakthrough movie role. It's telling that Jay's indebtedness didn't stretch to lending his name to a film Schneider was struggling to get off the ground after a career downturn. At the funeral, he's approached by Tim (Billy Crudup), hi