Noah Baumbach’s meditation on celebrity sees George Clooney deliver easy charm alongside Adam Sandler, while Michelle Pfeiffer stars in what will certainly be 2025’s best festive movie
Jay Kelly is Noah Baumbach’s meditation on the meaning of true celebrity, and he benefits greatly from casting George Clooney – perhaps the last classic movie star – in the lead. Co-written with Emily Mortimer, it explores the personas A-listers tend to trade in, and what happens when that starts to fall away. It’s a role right in the centre of Clooney’s comfort zone, and he inhabits it perfectly; imagine the heightened knowingness of Hail, Caesar! twinned with the easy charm of his Nespresso adverts. Plus it helps that he’s backed by a couple of Baumbach all-timers in Adam Sandler and Laura Dern. Catch it now, before all the Oscar buzz kicks in.
Friday 5 December, Netflix
