Jay Kelly

Release year: 2025
My Rating: ★★★ out of 5

Tagline: Everybody knows Jay Kelly, but Jay Kelly doesn’t know himself.

Synopsis: Famous movie actor Jay Kelly embarks on a journey of self discovery confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron

And we have made it to the final Sandler movie out as of this moment. Unfortunately, I don't have too much to say, but luckily this isn't the end. 

Jay Kelly is an Oscar-bait movie, which means that it's main purpose as a movie is to win awards. And that just makes me not like it. No movie should be made with the intention to win awards first, but there's a real segment of Hollywood that only makes movies for this reason. It's debatable if Jay Kelly even succeeds at that because it won a few awards, was nominated for a couple Golden Globes, but wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

I understand what they're trying to do with Jay Kelly. They want to get a pat on the back for being able to portray the reality of what being an actor is like, but unfortunately it just comes off as the filmmakers, well, lets just say giving themselves a happy ending. I feel like a good piece of media that we can compare this movie to is Bojack Horseman. Bojack Horseman goes much more into the dark side of Hollywood than Jay Kelly does, but I feel like it does a such better and more creative job of showing how show business has taken a toll on all these peoples lives. Jay Kelly on the other hand portrays the issues that are so obvious that it doesn't even feel all that interesting. Like of course actors are going to be too busy and not have time for their families. That doesn't feel all that insightful to me.

One thing I will say about this movie is that the problems do not at all come from Sandler. He's actually probably the best part of it and his plot line of constantly leaving his family behind for the actor who does not give him the appreciation he deserves is so much more interesting than the self insert George Clooney character.

Honestly though, I think this role still shows great signs for where Adam Sandler is going in the future. He still is going to be primarily in comedy, but he's no longer against showing his real acting chops and going outside of his wheelhouse. And usually when he does, he crushes it! The only serious movie Sandler is in that he doesn't give an incredible performance is Men, Women, and Children, but I think the issues with that movie were too significant that they were far beyond anything Sandler could do about it. But even if Sandler might be in a movie I don't like all that much, I'll always have a reason to watch because I'm excited to see what he does with his role. And I'll carry that with me as I see the rest of his career evolve and unfold.

BUT WAIT! We aren't done yet, because I still have 3 more blog posts in this series. Our first will be tomorrow and will be quick reviews of the 4 shorts that Adam Sandler stars in. Next will go into remembering "The Sandies". The Sandies was an awards show I put on for my friends recapping the best, and worst, of Sandlerfest with categories like best movie, best recurring cast member, and best Sandler voice. And my last post for this series will be my epilogue for the whole thing: Sandlerfest itself, how I feel about everything 4 years later, and what's next for my blog. Please stay tuned for all that!