‘Jay Kelly’ review: An easy-going and gentle comedy about stardom and friendship

In Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (1966), Bengali movie star Uttam Kumar, playing a version of himself, gets on a train from Kolkata to Delhi to receive an award. While on the train, Kumar’s character Arindam Mukherjee grapples with his image, insecurities and fears. A train ride features in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly too, less prominently and yet important to the namesake actor’s experience.

Hollywood star Jay Kelly (George Clooney) is on his way to Tuscany in Italy along with his manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern) to receive a lifetime achievement award. Jay is typical of his species – he’s self-absorbed, operates from within a bubble, and is always willing to please but petulant too.

Jay has slipped into an unusually contemplative mood of late. He wants to spend time with his daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards) before she goes off to college. He is upset about the death of a favourite director, Peter (Jim Broadbent).

Memories and flashbacks are entering Jay’s present, like cinematic dream sequences. All my memories are of movies, he tells Peter. That’s what movies are for us – pieces of time, Peter replies.

Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly is a witty, fuzzy and old-fashioned film about celebrity, ageing and self-discovery. Jay Kelly, which is out on Netflix, takes gentle pot...

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