Venice 2025: First Reactions to Noah Baumbach’s JAY KELLY

Courtesy Netflix

The Venice Film Festival got underway yesterday, and reactions to some of the highly-anticipated world premieres are continuing to arrive.

Jay Kelly is a coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Noah Baumbach and written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup.

In the film, famous movie actor Jay Kelly (Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Sandler) embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind.

The film will compete for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and then will then be released in select theaters on November 14th, 2025, followed by its global release on Netflix on December 5th. You can find the release dates on our In Theaters Calendar and Streaming Calendar.

Here are the first reactions out of Venice:

---

'Jay Kelly' Review: George Clooney Plays the Movie Star but Adam Sandler Shines Brightest in Noah Baumbach’s Sentimental Comedy-Drama https://t.co/sq0FQTyyYP

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 28, 2025

'Jay Kelly' Review: George Clooney As A Movie Star With An Identity Crisis In Noah Baumbach's Smart And Perceptive Character Study - Venice Film Festival https://t.co/OECkBT9Deg

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 28, 2025

'Jay Kelly' Review: George Clooney Plays a Version of Himself in Noah Baumbach's Lightly Diverting but Overly Soft Inside-Hollywood Drama https://t.co/fKGe6CnmVr

— Variety (@Variety) August 28, 2025

#Venice: Noah Baumbach's uncharacteristically sentimental shortfaller gets lost on its way to a movie script ending.

Read our review for "Jay Kelly": https://t.co/2miFlER21u pic.twitter.com/UZGmAhTwO6

— IndieWire (@IndieWire) August 28, 2025

‘Jay Kelly’ Venice review: George Clooney impresses as a jaded movie star in Noah Baumbach’s gentle drama. By @TimGrierson #Venezia82 https://t.co/nLfE5iM2M6

— Screen International (@Screendaily) August 28, 2025

#JayKelly beautifully blends melancholia & whimsy in an introspective journey through regret, the choices that define us & become ghosts of who we could've been.
A phenomenal Clooney & Sandler share heartfelt chemistry in a soulful ode to the bonds we so often forget to cherish. pic.twitter.com/HdRdLdy168

— Ren Geekness (@RenGeekness) August 28, 2025

"Maybe it's all a performance and it's all an illusion, but it's *your* illusion, and [...] it's all you have."

Clooney, Crudup & Sandler excel in Noah Baumbach's JAY KELLY, our first #Venezia82 5-star review! 🤩@SerenaSeghedoni's review 👉 https://t.co/Un6dIl4CHi@netflix pic.twitter.com/RGoRzFkPAz

— Loud and Clear Reviews (@LoudAndClearRvs) August 28, 2025

I didn’t know exactly what to expect from JAY KELLY but it ended up being everything I needed—and easily one of my favourite films of the year. It’s heartfelt, funny ans about what it means to be yourself (or even how to learn to be yourself) while reflecting on your past—because… pic.twitter.com/bXSHsbBpnF

— Mar (@_martremblay) August 28, 2025

---