Jay Kelly

I happen to catch this at the NYFF. This is the type of film we need now. It focuses on our humanity, our relationships, our joys and regrets. The movie captures accurately the working relationships of a movie star and his supporting entourage. And demonstrates the sacrifices that are sometimes necessary to achieve such success. The performances were wonderful. Adam Sandler has really come along way. He just gets better and better as a dramatic actor. His performance was heartbreaking and hopefully he'll receive many deserving accolades for it. Clooney, well, he never disappoints but this is the most vulnerable role I've ever seen him tackle and he did it superbly. I was very moved and hope everyone sees this film.

You guys sure are one eyed, and vicious, Did no one see this as some sort of a eulogy , god forbid George should drop dead soon, but if he did, you'll all realise this is george talkin about george, not that any of you were paying attention.

Congrats Sandler, this is your direction. Totally believable characterisation.

I'm a sucker for introspective, slow-paced movies, and this one hits that sweet spot perfectly. It follows George Clooney's character as he reflects on his entire life - from his biggest achievements to his hardest regrets - ultimately coming face to face with some harsh truths and realizations. We also get glimpses of that same emotional journey through a few other characters, mainly Adam Sandler, who delivers his most serious role yet.

The film explores how the road to career success can come at the expense of your personal life, and how each person copes with that differently. It's also a movie about filmmaking itself, with Clooney playing an actor - another theme I absolutely love.

The cast is fantastic across the board, but with the story centered on Clooney and Sandler, they naturally stand out. Both give incredible performances, especially Sandler, who completely steps outside his usual lane and nails it. The cinematography, scenery, and production design are top-tier, but the script is the true standout. It blends drama and comedy so naturally, and honestly, I think we need more films like this - emotional, feel-good, and thought-provoking.

This film was written for George Clooney, by George Clooney. I understand the basic premise of it: a 35 year illustrious career in which you are highly esteemed by the public and pedestaled as a hero, but all your personal relationships have disintegrated as a result.

The result, however, was a very slow-paced film with poor dialogue (one-liners that were intended as gut punches but fell flat due to lack of conviction) and a LOT of close-ups of Clooney's face.

Clooney acts as he always does -- he plays himself. The film read as extremely self-obsessed, this meta tribute to his own career while lamenting on what he's lost along the way. While there were some heartfelt moments nearing the end of the film, they were lost in the extremely drawn-out plot and self-pity.

Honorable mention goes to Adam Sandler, who I hadn't seen in a serious role such as this before. He nailed the role of a star actor's manager -- you could feel the sheer exhaustion and lack of agency that he felt responding to every beck and call of someone who didn't acknowledge his humanity.

If an introspective single character film is what you're in the market for, this may fit the bill. If you're looking for an actual plot, genuine introspection, or actually utilizing Laura Dern's talent, look elsewhere.

"Does anyone involved have any idea how off-putting and unrelatable this is?" -Sean Burns review on Rottentomatoes.

No Sean, clearly they don't, because they all spend 130 minutes basking in the glow of how important and wonderful they are.

Tonally all over the place and infused with endless product placement (Hellman's, Polo, a few watch brands) Jay Kelly is a film that never stops revelling in how important it thinks it is. It took every ounce of energy to restrain myself from walking after the 10th Clooney close-up, an amateurish attempt to make the film seem "deep" or meaningful.

It's not meaningful or profound. We don't care about these people. No relationship feels real. It drones on pointlessly with endless scenes we've seen 100 times before.

This film is everything that's wrong with Hollywood. You won't ever see A24 put out something like this self-pleased, maudlin waste of 2+ hours.