影星杰·凯利

没想到临近年末还有这么一部细腻而真挚的，从一个演员，或者说明星身份作为切入点来刻画人内心矛盾和碰撞的电影，并且来自一对我从来没有设想过的组合：乔治克鲁尼和亚当桑德勒。

想想这部电影原定的主角是布拉德皮特，在制作前临时改为克鲁尼，而后者也几乎是立刻就同意参演，不得不说也有点神来之笔的意思。皮特其实也可以文艺，但更偏向那种自我放逐型的文艺，而克鲁尼的精英外表下自带一点忧郁的气质，比皮特更契合男主的角色定位。很有趣的一点是，电影里的杰凯利每拍一场戏都要求再拍一条，现实中真正喜欢大量重拍素材的其实是导演诺亚鲍姆巴赫本人，反而乔治克鲁尼唯一的顾虑就是担心自己一把岁数，顶不顶得住导演这种高强度的拍摄习惯。亚当桑德勒的表演独树一帜。这个在喜剧行业深耕了30年的演员终于被越来越多的导演承认了他演正剧的能力。早在05年就和PTA合作过《私恋失调》，到07年的《从心开始》，再到17年和本片导演初次合作的《迈耶罗维茨的故事》，他一直都对这种家庭题材的电影驾轻就熟。其实经纪人这个人物的复杂程度并不比主角更低，只是被亚当举重若轻地化解在琐碎的台词和精准的微表情里。诺亚鲍姆巴赫依旧专注于个人情感的细腻塑造，这在当下的好莱坞电影中是稀缺的。任何时候，一部优秀的作品最终的落点一定是在人本身上。人都是个体，只有专注于个体而非集体的艺术作品，才能真正打动人心。只可惜如今愿意静下心来看一个讲人物内心电影的观众，同样也是稀缺的。这次的台词没有《婚姻故事》或者《白噪音》那么密集，而是更多给了主角自己放空、在现实和回忆里往返漫步的空间。也让观众有更充裕的时间，去跟着不急不躁的镜头语言，看完主角一生中每一个重要节点。最喜欢的一个镜头莫过于在致敬仪式上，银幕放起他两个女儿的剪辑。主角回忆起她们还小的时候在院子里为自己表演，而他则收拾行装准备出门。女儿们一边挽留他，一边继续载歌载舞。回忆里的他在远处徘徊片刻，最后竟放下背包转身回来，倚在墙边，看完了他现实中从未有幸看完的节目。马克吐温说，这世上有两天最为重要，你出生的那天，以及你想明白自己为何出生的那天。

那块嫌弃了一整部电影的芝士蛋糕，真的吃一口，才惊觉如此美味。

In Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach offers a portrait of a man in crisis — not a real, relatable crisis, but the kind that only exists in the minds of white aging rich men and their favorite screenwriters. George Clooney plays Jay Kelly, a mega-famous film star in his 60s who suddenly begins to feel things. But rather than interrogating power, privilege, or generational disconnect, the film simply asks us to pity him. Pity the man with mansions, staff, private jets, and a tribute ceremony in Italy — because he’s lonely. It’s narcissism disguised as melancholy. It’s patriarchy rebranded as reflection.The plot kicks off when Jay runs into his old acting school friend, Tim (played by Billy Crudup) — a man whose opportunity he once stole by accidentally landing a role he was auditioning for. The encounter triggers a minor guilt spiral, just as Jay is about to start a two-week break before shooting his next film.And so, in true rich-man-in-a-mood fashion, he suddenly decides to fly to Europe — on a whim. And of course, his entire entourage of four to six grown adults, including his manager Ron (played by Adam Sandler), must instantly stop whatever they’re doing to make it happen. A private jet is arranged. Lives are rearranged. All so Jay can go chase some vague emotional closure he doesn’t even understand.And talking about the jet — Jay doesn’t just book a flight for his staff. He curates a theatrical exit. In one of the most self-indulgent moments of the film, we see him playing his grand piano — as it’s being loaded onto the plane. Yes. The piano.The scene is framed through the eyes of Ron, and plays with a touch of absurdist comedy. But the film still insists on casting Jay as a sentimental man-child who just feels a little too much — too tender, too lost, too artistic to fly without his music.But as one of the regular folks? I knew right then: I would never feel sorry for this guy. The sheer level of wealth and unbothered privilege leaking out of that one image — piano, jet, staff at his beck and call — said everything I needed to know. He’s not in crisis. He’s cosplaying as vulnerable from inside a luxury bubble.Normie Fetish, Hero Complex, and the Fake-European FantasyOnce in Europe, the film detaches from reality entirely and slips into nostalgic delusion. Jay learns his daughter is riding a regular train, so he insists his whole entourage board it with him. His staff scrambles while Jay drifts down the aisle like an enlightened tourist, basking in the authenticity of the"real world." Then it gets weird: passengers recognize him — not with polite curiosity, but with full, fairy-tale awe. They ask questions, smile wide-eyed, and react with childlike reverence.The setting isn't incidental. It's escapism.By relocating to Europe — to quaint trains, Italian countryside, the film constructs a fantasy where 2025 doesn't exist. Where social media hasn't flattened celebrity into accessibility. Where TikTok hasn't made"fame" something a teenager can acquire in a week. Where #MeToo didn't reframe how we view powerful white men. The film retreats to a geography where it can pretend Old Hollywood hierarchies still function, where white American movie stars are still treated like visiting dignitaries, where"normal people" are so starved for glamour they react to celebrities like awestruck peasants.It's a theme park. A carefully curated time capsule where George Clooney-type stardom still feels sacred.The train isn't just a train — it's a stage set for a world that no longer exists. Europe becomes shorthand for"a place where we still matter," where the old rules still apply, where fame commands automatic deference instead of ironic distance or algorithmic indifference. The film can't make this fantasy work in Los Angeles in 2025, so it relocates to a romanticized elsewhere.It's shot with a comedic tone, but the underlying message is clear: even among"normal people," Jay is still the center of the universe.This isn't about connection. It's about control. Regular people are infantilized — turned into props who exist to admire Jay and affirm his continued worth. It's not warmth; it's fetishization of working-class simplicity. Jay's smiley train ride becomes a kind of fantasy tourism, indulging in a dream where movie stars are still gods and the"common folk" exist just to applaud.Later, he even gets a ridiculous hero moment — chasing down a thief and returning a stolen bag to a sweet elderly French woman who kisses his cheek. The scene ends with a local news report praising him. It's absurd, self-mythologizing, and painfully transparent. The film mourns not Jay's relevance, but the loss of a time when audiences worshipped white male stars without question — and it desperately wants that era back.Male Narcissism, Disguised as DepthJay Kelly isn’t a film about a man trying to change. It’s a film about a man who wants to feel bad about not changing — and be applauded for the effort.Meanwhile, his manager Ron is sacrificing everything — his family, his time, his emotional energy — to care for Jay like a frustrated parent. After a heated argument where Ron questions whether he’s anything more than “just staff,” Jay shrugs him off with something like, “You take 15% of everything I do.” It’s meant to be witty, but it’s the most honest moment in the film. Jay doesn’t see people — not Ron, not Jessica — as individuals. He sees them as props orbiting his emotional weather system.And yet Ron still stays. Still supports him. Still stands by him at the tribute. And in return, he’s given the most emotionally intimate scene in the entire film.In what can only be described as a romanticized act of male emotional codependence, Ron applies Jay’s makeup. He gently touches up his bruises. Darkens his eyebrows. It’s slow motion. Warm lighting. Close-ups. Sentimental music. The entire scene is filmed like a lovers’ reconciliation.Which, in a way, it is — they’ve just had a fight. Now they’re doing makeup. Literal makeup after emotional makeup!It’s more romantic than anything Jay shares with a woman. Because that’s the heart of this film: he doesn’t grow as a father. He doesn’t meaningfully reconnect with his daughters. He doesn’t love any woman. He just wants validation from one man who hasn’t left him.Jay chases emotional approval from his father — literally sprinting after his car when the man leaves early and refuses to stay for the tribute. But he doesn’t do the same for Jessica. Her forgiveness is optional. Her letter? Walked out on. But Daddy not clapping at the right time? That's the real trauma.In one scene, another actor, Ben Alcock (Patrick Wilson), says: “Two white guys getting a tribute in Italy these days? That’s rare.” It’s delivered like a winking meta-joke. But it lands like real talk — the clearest expression of what this movie actually mourns: not family, not youth, but the slow death of white male reverence.Even Baumbach’s real-life wife, Greta Gerwig — one of the most relevant and talked-about directors in 2025 — appears in this film only as Ron’s wife, a voice on the phone. The woman behind Barbie and Little Women reduced to the most basic stereotype: the “supportive wife on the line.” It’s both ironic and telling.Because Jay Kelly doesn’t care about women’s stories, or even men’s growth. It cares about one thing: making male fragility look noble again.Final Thoughts: A Pity Party for an Old White ManThe film ends, of course, with the tribute — a grand emotional climax dripping with dramatic music, misty lighting, and intercut footage of Jay’s “iconic roles,” which are clearly stand-ins for George Clooney’s real-life filmography. Onscreen, Clooney and Sandler both look emotional. The soundtrack swells. We’re shown a memory of Jay’s two daughters as little girls putting on a home theater performance — one of the only times we see them as happy kids. Jay watches fondly, remembering how he had to leave that night for work. A bittersweet sacrifice. A noble wound.Or so the film wants you to think.What it’s actually saying is this: Yes, I traumatized my kids. But I gave you — the audience — such beautiful memories in exchange.As if starring in beloved films somehow cancels out neglecting your children. As if emotional absence can be repackaged as cultural contribution.You’re not a firefighter!! You’re not a soldier!!! You’re a man who lives in a mansion with a full-time staff. No one owes you tears for the “burden” of your success. And yet the film insists on canonizing him — a man who gave up very little, hurt plenty, and still wants to be thanked for everything. The entire emotional finale is so shamelessly gendered it’s laughable: daughters reduced to poetic regret, the old cartoonishly sweet French lady from the train shows up to beam at him like he saved France, and the actress he once had a fling with materializes as a vision in the crowd — a literal ghost of missed romantic potential. Because, of course, even the romance he didn’t have still exists to make him look noble.Women in Jay Kelly aren’t characters. They’re mirrors — there to reflect Jay’s supposed greatness back at him one last time before the curtain falls.And that, ultimately, is the tragedy this film doesn’t mean to reveal: Not the fading of a man, but the fading of a worldview — where white male ego was mistaken for depth, and everyone else existed to worship it.

#影星杰·凯利# （ Jay Kell ）（B ）故事并不新鲜，讲述一个大明星中年危机的故事，即使事业成功却发现与身边的人关系都搞砸，后悔没有更多陪伴家人，没有更好对待和回报身边曾经的朋友。但因为是诺亚·鲍姆巴赫 Noah Baumbach的电影，他的故事一向都是诙谐的讽刺小品，不会选择过于黑暗或沉闷的方式，看起来轻松有趣，让人觉得被娱乐的同时也能深切共鸣。 讲述这类大明星为了事业变得自私、不顾家庭或人际关系的故事很多，但每个导演呈现的方式都不同。有的会加入酒精药品类的内容，让角色的生活变得更为混乱不堪。但诺亚·鲍姆巴赫的电影一向都是轻喜剧风格，没有太多怪异又抽风的内容这也是我喜欢的原因，比较适合我的口味。也就是说他本身不是重口味的电影人，所以端上来的菜都清爽可口。而且他往往对电影、娱乐业有深入的观察，希望能呈现明星光环背后各种不尽如人意的一面，特别是关注家庭关系。 我感觉是因为他自己也曾有过离婚的背景，内心总觉得有愧疚感，而且他一直在这个产业保持很小资、低调的态度，并不是很喜欢这个名利场，但又能深深了解身在其中、成为名人的滋味。在这部电影里，乔治克鲁尼出演的大明星事业并未遇到危机，但因为很红开始变得飘飘然，淡漠人情世故，在过去追逐事业的过程中曾伤害到很多人，包括他的老朋友、导师、妻子、孩子，甚至也忽略了身边默默支持他拥护他的工作人员，一路留下很多遗憾。在他即将被表彰、颁发终身成就奖时，他才发现自己虽然习惯于被很多人簇拥、被人知晓，但其实孤独的，因为根本没有真正他在乎的人愿意庆祝他的事业，愿意分享他的成就。他给观众带来了很多，却毁掉了与身边人的关系。 我相信这个故事会让好莱坞很多业内人士以及大明星有共鸣，不少艺术家都容易投入到事业中，习惯了被簇拥、被宠爱，而忘记同样爱和关心别人。他们往往会觉得自己是太阳，其他人都围着他们转，但有的人会因此离开，因为每个人都需要被爱和关怀，人与人之间的感情，不管是亲情、爱情还是友情都是需要维护的。妮可基德曼最近离婚的经历其实就是本片故事的真实写照，她就是因为工作太多，到了中年依然太忙碌，不再顾忌家庭和丈夫，婚姻才破裂的。也许她会对本片产生强烈共鸣。无论男女，事业与家庭有时真的很难平衡。 片中的Jay Kelly举手投足的气质真的很类似克鲁尼本人，让他尽情展示了个人魅力，甚至片中回顾职业生涯的电影片段也都是来自他自己的电影。不过他在记者会上坚持说自己人缘很好，不是男主这么糟糕。亚当·桑德勒 Adam Sandler出演Jay Kelly的经纪人，完全与他之前那些吵闹夸张的角色大不同，是一个很有人情味的暖心角色，很容易获得观众喜爱。片中还有很多知名演员客串，包括帕特里克·威尔森 Patrick Wilson、劳拉·邓恩 Laura Dern、艾拉·菲舍尔 Isla Fisher、Noah的老婆格蕾塔·葛韦格 Greta Gerwig、吉姆·布劳德本特 Jim Broadbent、路易斯·帕特里奇 Louis Partridge等，有的只有一两句台词，但几乎每个小角色都是个明星，可见Noah的号召力。不少也是多次与他合作的演员。而且本片也真实展示了好莱坞明星平时工作生活的一些细节，也有很漂亮的法国和意大利风景。对于想了解大明星生活的人来说不能错过。 我最喜欢本片的是Jay Kelly回顾一生中曾经的各种遗憾，对于中老年观众来说，看到也会不自觉想起自己曾经的过往。有那些朋友已经早就不联系，有那些亲人已经疏离，曾经那些人错过，哪些关系是一直以来的心结。。。不少都没办法修复，也可能并不需要修复。但这种对过去的回忆和梳理确实是人到中年常常会有的。不过其实就算重来一次，人生还是会留下很多遗憾，还是更应该珍惜拥有和获得的。 整体感觉就是片子拍得很美很吸引人，卡司强大，也带来了怀旧和思考，只是感觉并没有那么强的新鲜感。不过还是非常开心看到克鲁尼的回归。