George Clooney’s Jay Kelly: Why Film & TV Needs New Rich Characters
Is Hollywood Losing Touch? “Jay Kelly” and the Peril of Privileged Protagonists
We’re drowning in stories about the ultra-rich. From the sun-drenched villas of The White Lotus to the cutthroat boardrooms of Succession, our screens are saturated with the lives of the one percent. And while these narratives often offer a glimpse into a world few of us will ever experience, a troubling trend is emerging: a soft focus on the privileged, a reluctance to truly critique the lives of those at the top.
The new film Jay Kelly, co-written by Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, exemplifies this shift. The film, which reveres its protagonist, a triumphant actor undergoing a mild mid-life crisis, feels strangely out of step with the times. While other recent shows like The Perfect Couple and Succession offer a dark twist, Jay Kelly seems content to simply admire its subject.
The film opens with a Sylvia Plath quote, an odd choice given the protagonist’s relatively comfortable existence. Flashbacks and speeches paint Jay as a “troubled demigod,” a magically talented artist who has enriched the world. The film seems to encourage viewers to venerate him, despite his “failure to appreciate his own wildly lucky position.”
This stands in stark contrast to shows like Seth Rogen’s The Studio, which satirizes Hollywood executives and stars without asking us to venerate them. Baumbach himself was onc known for his piquant comedies populated with foolish, frustrated, and sometimes horrible characters. The Squid and the Whale, While We’re Young, and Marriage Story all offered sharp, often uncomfortable, portraits of flawed individuals.
But perhaps Baumbach’s outlook has shifted. After co-writing the blockbuster Barbie with his wife, Greta Gerwig, it’s understandable that Hollywood’s glamorous upper echelons are now on his mind. But is this fascination leading to a blind spot? Are we losing the ability to critically examine the lives of the privileged, instead opting for glossy tributes that ultimately ring hollow?
The question remains: are these lives inherently fascinating and impressive simply because of the money in the bank? Or are we in danger of losing touch with the stories that truly resonate with the majority of viewers?