Does the power of a Hollywood movie star still exist? We live in an era when fewer and fewer big-budget films earn the money they once did and A-list actors are no longer guaranteed box office gold. Gone are the days of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
In Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly,’ George Clooney stars as the title character — ostensibly one of the last iconic leading men working in Tinseltown. Having just wrapped up a film shoot, Jay hopes to spend his time off with his daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards), who is soon heading off to college, before he starts his next project in two weeks. Except Daisy has already booked a European getaway with friends.
Knowing he already crippled his relationship with his eldest estranged daughter, Jess (Riley Keough), Jay drops everything and hops on his private jet to join Daisy anyway, creating headaches for his entourage led by his longtime manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and his publicist Liz (Laura Dern), who are always tasked with putting out their boss’s fires.
Throughout the film, Jay drifts into flashbacks showing pivotal moments of his career as well as his deepest regrets, ranging from his acting class and his life-changing audition to his last bitter encounter with Jess and how he treated his aging mentor before his death, reflecting on how he has treated friends and family. At one point, Jay makes a sobering realization: