"Jay Kelly" might be the closest thing we ever get to "George Clooney: The Movie."
Director Noah Baumbach's bittersweet dramedy (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in select theaters now, streaming on Netflix Dec. 5) is another of his signature tales tackling human relationships, regrets and foibles. This one just happens to feature Clooney playing the most famous movie star in the world in the twilight of his career. (A real stretch, right?)
But this Jay Kelly fellow realizes, perhaps too late, that he's set aside those closest to him for the sake of his work. It's a very meta Hollywood version of "A Christmas Carol," with Clooney brandishing both his signature grin and palpable gravitas as a man shown the consequences of his existence not via ghosts but his own conscience.
Jay's a living legend who's just finished one movie and is prepping to move to another when he finds out that he won't be able to spend time with his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards), who's leaving early for a European trip with friends before heading off to college. That, combined with the death of his filmmaking mentor Peter (Jim Broadbent) and a hostile run-in with drama school pal Timothy (Billy Crudup), leaves Jay spinning.
