Art Imitates Life for George Clooney in Art Imitates Life

Covering grey hairs, struggling to maintain the facial road map marching across one’s face or the fact that phone calls, emails, texts and invites become increasingly less, is the reality of many aging actors.  Some even make the mistake of forgetting all those agents, managers, publicists, personal assistants and glam squads are not your friends, but rather your employees who are rewarded for their loyalty and service with 10- 25 % of a paycheck earned off your skills. This is just the tip of the iceberg that is at the core of Jay Kelly.

While simultaneously having premieres at Venice and Telluride, Noah Baumbach’s latest film with Netflix has tongues wagging. In Jay Kelly, we are introduced to a bonafide action movie star in this last act wrestling with whether or not he deserves his golden life.

It goes without saying that over decades audiences have seen the aging actor trope played out in films like my personal favs  – A Star is Born and Sunset Boulevard. But it hits different when not only does the industry view you as used goods, but all the people in your orbit abandon you, leaving one to ponder if their remaining days will be played out being as a shell of the person and brand they’ve worked so hard to maintain.

At the core of this plot, is the fact that Kelly begins to experience an existential identity crisis when his mentor and friend Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent) unexpected passes away.  At the funeral service, he runs onto an old acting buddy Tim (Billy Crudup).  But when the duo steps out for an impromptu catch up session turned slugfest fueled by Tim’s jealousy – it all goes downhill from there.

Much like Jay, Clooney is the epitome of what one would consider a movie star.  With a blinding smile, rugged good looks that ooze charisma, he effortlessly embodies qualities that made household names out of Clark Gable and Cary Grant. He is simply perfection in a role made only for him. Yet, it’s those quiet moments of reflection where not a single word isn’t uttered that he really shines.  Adam Sandler and Laura Dern are so endearing and sweet as the manager and publicist whose blinding loyalty brings the realization they need to be good to Jay – but be even better to themselves.

Let’s face it, being in the spotlight in any era is extremely challenging and when the glare of that spotlight dims it feels as if your life flashes before your eyes in an instant.  Noah Baumbach is a director who relies heavily on the life he has lived or witnessed to inform his storytelling.  There is no moment more telling than the final scene during a tribute to Jay Kelly in Italy.  While watching himself age in the video retrospective package honoring his career, Kelly and Clooney are cosmically reminded of a desire to have the chance to do it all just one more time. As Clooney expresses this sentiment it straight to camera with an adoring audience on the other side of the lens, it creates a raw, revealing moment that the circus  of show business can always make one last stop on our.  Whether or not one wants to continue on the ride remains to be seen.

Jay Kelly is a love letter to the absurdity of Hollywood, all the actors and players in it while asking if aging is the end or simply the beginning of a life that has much more pep left in its step.