Adam Sandler and George Clooney in tall grass with a cross in front of them Netflix

'Jay Kelly' trailer: George Clooney and Adam Sandler journey through their pasts

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Michael Walsh | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 11:34 AM ET

How do you define success? What does reaching the top of your profession really look like? What does it mean to live your life to the fullest? It would certainly seem like “George Clooney” is a fitting answer to all of those questions. But in his new film, he plays a mega famous movie star who isn’t so sure he’s accomplished anything, and in the trailer for Jay Kelly, the need to discover who he really is will lead him on dream-like quest through his past to determine if he did anything right. This film certainly pairs Clooney and Sandler together in an interesting way.

Serious Adam Sandler? Yes please and thank you. We love serious Adam Sandler. We also love this ethereal new look at Jay Kelly, which will see Sandler playing a global icon’s long-time manager. When the wildly popular actor has a crisis of identity the two will go on a trip through their lives to discover exactly what, if anything, they accomplished. Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Netflix:

Famous movie actor Jay Kelly embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting his past and present with his devoted manager Ron. Poignant and humor-filled, pitched at the intersection of regrets and glories.

The film comes from director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story). He co-wrote the script with actress Emily Mortimer. She will also appear in the film. Outside of Clooney and Sandler, Jay Kelly also stars Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, and Isla Fisher.

Jay Kelly has already screened at some of the world’s biggest film festivals, but we have to wait a little bit longer to see it ourselves. It arrives in select theaters starting on November 14. It will then debut at Netflix on December 5. In the spirit of Jay Kelly try not to do anything you’ll regret before that. You want to set yourself up for success. Like George Clooney.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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