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In the end we are all going to look back and wish we can go again for another round. It may seem a little too heavy to think about or even a downer of a way to discuss a film that spends its runtime honoring a Hollywood icon. But for Noah Baumbach who has spent the latter half of his career holding his voice in the tragic comedies of sad saps often struggling with their own self made destruction. A filmmaker that while circling the same deadpan beats and wit that often feels both like a speeding bullet and a slow crashing train has also found himself reflecting. He has done it before with his childhood in “The Squid and the Whale” as well as his trials of divorce with “A Marriage Story” and while his latest film JAY KELLY can feel like a reflection of the self it is removed from the director personally and instead thrust upon the stardom of a man who can’t pump his own gas without being hounded by bystanders. JAY KELLY uses a fabricated Hollywood icon to stand in for a real world and in doing so sends this man on a beautiful Italian journey that evokes the deepest of haunting memories. In doing this it allows its titular character to be enough of a fantasy to be far removed from any audience viewer to connect to only to have his own ideas and troubles come crashing down to Earth in a despicable meteor of regret. It may be the ultimate “stars they’re just like us” ad campaign and yet JAY KELLY still is a fantasy to many, a look to the stars and dream of this life type feeling where even in an age of social media allowing us to see every move a movie star makes there is still this element of surprise and mystery. But above all else JAY KELLY is a tribute. A tribute to one man specifically both fiction and real, alive and unmade. A person who we will only spend a few hours with and also a person we felt like we’ve been around our entire lives. A film about the industry is an easy grab for say well, the industry but JAY KELLY is so much more, it is proof that stars do exist and there will always be the need for them. If nothing else to be reminded that in the movies a second take isn’t impossible and sometimes it will be the best one yet.

Jay Kelly is dying. Or at least whatever character he is playing this time has met his end. A soundstage is in full production as Jay Kelly lies on the floor fake blood on his shirt and food smeared on his hand so the stage dog knows exactly where to rest his head. As Jay Kelly’s character lies dying he reflects on the life he is now leaving. A cliché monologue much like the one you’d expect to be written in a fake movie within a movie. But Jay Kelly isn’t don’t yet. He wants another take. Much to his director’s dismay who is able to convince Jay through his ego that the work is magic. Good. Cut. Wrap film. Exit Jay Kelly. But here’s the curious thing about Jay Kelly, he looks an awful lot like Hollywood icon George Clooney. Clooney as Jay Kelly seems almost too easy. As you are reading this just say both names in a row. Jay Kelly. George Clooney. Jay Kelly George Clooney. Jaykellygeorgeclooney. It is obvious to see why Clooney is not only perfect casting for Jay, but also how Baumbach is giving the actor his own tribute and his through the looking glass moment where Clooney can see the possible next stages in his career. But for now Clooney is Kelly and only that…for now. For now Kelly has wrapped one project and is expected on the set of another. The moment Kelly wraps he is surrounded by his manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and an entire entourage of hair and makeup, body guard, agent, lawyer, and so on. But Jay wants a few minutes at home with his daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards) before she surprises him with the news that she is travelling through Europe this summer (she told Jay about this months ago). For Jay this means a scary empty house. Estranged from his older daughter Jess (Riley Keough) and now learning the news of a former mentor and director’s passing, Jay feels a sudden wave of reality. Baumbach allows his film to be chaotic early on with the Hollywood hills set as the backdrop. Clooney as Jay channels his deer in headlights energy taking every bit of news like a rocket launched at his skull. It’s easy territory for Clooney but no less charming for a man who has made a career out of swagger and a dangerous smile. But a passing of a friend means a funeral and funerals means memories. And it will be memories that dictate every step Kelly makes from here on out.

Baumbach surprisingly has a lot to set up in a film hellbent on getting the train literally rolling. Jay first has to go through the notions of Hollywood ghosts past. The funeral brings back old friends including very long ago friend Timothy (Billy Crudup), who went through the acting class stages with Jay including a life changin audition for both of them. What starts out as a friendly drink and memories lane quickly dives into the reality that Jay Kelly should be counting his lucky stars, or at least that is how Timothy sees it. Crudup is the definition of a scene stealer here, traveling the scene along through charm, comedy and eventually violence. It’s a wake up call for Jay that sets off a late night few too many drinks decision of wanting to follow Daisy across Europe and using a once rejected tribute award in Tuscany as an excuse. Quite the setup but away JAY KELLY goes becoming a European road trip film where memories dictate the travel log. With his crew in store including a begrudging Ron who needs to make sure Jay is back on his new set in time, Jay is quickly brought back to the memories of the people he lost along the way to stardom. It seems easy in terms of storytelling but Baumbach channels a fascinating visual style using sound stages and old school Hollywood techniques to bring Jay right back into the past without ever having to leave the train station. His younger self (performed by Charlie Rowe) brings forth the notion that talent is one thing but in Hollywood charm and ego is another. This is not to say Jay wasn’t talented but instead to evoke the feeling that much like Clooney himself the doors open for a good looking man with a confidence that many leave at the door.

But the deeper the journey goes the more devastating the memories come back. There is the neglect of his first child now all grown up and wanting her therapist to be a mediator for any conversations they must have. There is also the first onset love that Jay felt he could never amount to wondering if she felt the same way as they laughed between intimate scenes. But while Jay has the privilege of going down memories lane, the world still moves. Baumbach uses great harsh humor to show that everyone is just pawns in Jay’s world. Ron’s own family situation is growing more chaotic and while he has undying love for Jay their friendship has difficulty balancing anything more than a one sided friendship. Sandler channels his inner dark comedian to display another humungous arrangement of tragedy to show how even his best and worst moments are simply footnotes in Jay’s life. Jay himself  not oblivious to his stardom but oblivious to the way people will follow his lead hops on a public train to the complete shock of its passengers all in disbelief that even for a moment they get to be amongst a star. It’s a prolonged aspect of the film that feels indicative not just to Jay but Clooney’s own inability to just travel on public transport without the world stopping. An easy observation of “champagne problems” and yet we still feel so much for Jay Kelly because in our hearts we want him to be a star and a good man as well.

There is no denying that JAY KELLY with its script from Baumbach and Emily Mortimer is channeling the life and works of Federico Fellini. Specifically his magnum opus 8 ½. A film that can be met with hesitation anytime someone tries to bring it into their own work, and yet so many do that most are probably not even noticeable. JAY KELLY on the other hand holds its hand and brings it right into center frame. This is not necessarily compare one to the other (an impossible feat and an uphill battle) but instead admire Baumbach’s love for the director and morphing that into his leading man. It works well because its love feels individual to its success. JAY KELLY is a reflection of the past, but it is also a reminder that the present can have more in store, even if that is just a lie you tell yourself. As Jay finds himself closer to Tuscany and receiving a lifetime tribute award the ghosts of his past start to make him understand that the people in his reality are dwindling each day. Some are leaving Jay’s world and some are departing forever, but they are leaving Jay no matter what.

As JAY KELLY finds itself at its meta like finale there is a sense that it is almost too easy at times. But in regards to both George Clooney the real man and Jay Kelly the creation its final moments not only make perfect sense but they blind that fiction and reality quite literally. It’s a somber heartfelt moment dedicated to a man who gave himself over to his art and for Jay lost everyone in return. Again however this is a film that makes it nearly impossible to separate Clooney from Kelly and when it reaches its last frame there is a joy that can be found in watching movie stars. People that create magic and give us comfort. For the stars themselves they may feel like it was never enough. A bittersweet reminder that they should always be grateful that they are one of the few types of people who can stare into the camera and ask to do it all over again.

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JAY KELLY SCREENED AT THE 2025 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL. IT WILL BE IN SELECT THEATERS NOVEMBER 14 AND STREAMING ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 5