Movie Review

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part makes for a manic outing

When The LEGO Movie came out in 2014, it was an unexpected blast of pure joy. Written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, its combination of whimsy, creativity, and heart made it one of the best animated movies of that year. Following a couple of less appealing sidetracks into showcases for Batman and Ninjago, the LEGO franchise has come back home with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.

Unfortunately, the world that Emmet (Chris Pratt) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) now inhabit is not as awesome as it once was. In fact, it has gone apocalyptic, thanks to an ongoing war with an alien race known as DUPLOs. The ever-optimistic Emmet makes the best of the situation, but Wyldstyle, Batman (Will Arnett), Unikitty (Alison Brie), MetalBeard (Nick Offerman), and more are on constant alert for more attacks.

One such attack comes from General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), who kidnaps a handful of people at the behest of Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), who has a nefarious plot in mind. Emmet must try to overcome his inherent non-combative nature to rescue his friends and stop the plot from coming to fruition.

As the LEGO franchise has gone along, it has gotten increasingly manic. The reason the first film worked so well was because it had a coherent story that enhanced the crazy and creative ways the filmmakers used LEGOs. Now, it seems that they’re content with creating enough chaos and referencing enough other pop cultural touchstones to distract audiences from the fact that they don’t really have a good story to tell.

The first film ended with the surprise discovery that everything we had been watching had been the imagination of Finn (Jadon Sand), who dared to play with the LEGO collection of his father (Will Ferrell). They’ve made things significantly less mysterious in The LEGO Movie 2, as the sibling rivalry between Finn and his sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), is integrated into the film as a whole. The trouble is that their squabbles are not that interesting and also that any time spent with them distracts from the fun with the LEGO characters.

And, to be fair, just spending time with those characters continues to be a blast. When the filmmakers, which includes Lord & Miller as writers and director Mike Mitchell, keep things to a low roar, the charm and humor of the individual characters comes through loud and clear. Even when things are at top speed, enough of the gags land so that you can get the flavor of the cleverness they’re trying to impart.

The song “Everything is Awesome” played a big part in the first film’s success, and they’ve gone all in with the music this time, almost turning it into a full-fledged musical. None of them are the equal of that Oscar-nominated tune, but the aptly-named “The Catchy Song” and “Super Cool” make the biggest impressions.

You can’t really fault Lord & Miller and their team for going all out in an attempt to entertain us, but The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is more of an exhausting experience than a truly enjoyable one. It’d be nice if they could go back to basics, but now that the LEGO beast has been unleashed, keeping things simple is an unrealistic expectation.

Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.

$Queen Watevra Wa\u2019Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.$

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.

Movie Review

George Clooney shines in Jay Kelly, a sharp and heartfelt look at fame

George Clooney in Jay Kelly

Photo by Peter Mountain/Netflix

George Clooney in Jay Kelly.

The life of a celebrity is paradoxical in that your life is lived in the public eye, yet who you really are is almost unknowable. Movie history is littered with films that try to dig into the private lives of real and fictional actors, with varying results. The latest film to try to unearth what it means to be famous is Jay Kelly.

In a perfect bit of casting, George Clooney stars in the title role as an actor who’s still world famous even if he’s edging toward the downside of his career. His coterie of helpers, including manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern), make sure he is taken care of at every turn, often anticipating his needs before he realizes it.

A run-in with an old friend, Timothy (Billy Crudup), sends Jay spiraling, questioning not just the meaning of his 35-plus year career, but also his relationships with his two daughters, Jessica (Riley Keough) and Daisy (Grace Edwards). Jay’s attempt to manage the crisis pits his identity as a celebrity and as a father and friend against each other.

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, and co-written by Emily Mortimer (who has a small role), the film has to walk the tightrope of making the audience like Jay even as he does and says things that might make him unlikable. There’s a very thin line between the character of Jay Kelly and the real life George Clooney; each is seemingly infinitely charming when dealing with the public, but they lead very different private lives.

Baumbach takes a light approach to the story, occasionally dipping into more serious territory but never going too deep. For some, this may seem like a copout, as if he’s merely pretending to want to explore what celebrity truly is. But as you see Jay navigate his way between his work, his family, and being out among the public, little details emerge that make him increasingly complex.

A lot of the film’s pleasure comes from the strong actors cast in relatively minor roles. There are not enough words to express what it means to have actors like Jim Broadbent as Jay’s mentor, or Greta Gerwig as Ron’s wife, or Stacy Keach as Jay’s father, or Patrick Wilson as a fellow longtime actor. Each of them and more lend an instant air of excellence to the film that elevates the story beyond its simple premise.

Clooney may be playing a version of himself, but as the film notes on multiple occasions, playing yourself is more difficult than it seems. He is deserving of an Oscar nomination, as is Sandler, who doesn’t give off even a whiff of insincerity as a man who has given perhaps a bit too much of himself in aid of another man’s career.

Jay Kelly is not a world-changing film, and some may accuse it of being another navel-gazing Hollywood story. But the forcefulness of Clooney’s performance, the long line of strong supporting actors, and the subtly effective storytelling by Baumbach and Mortimer (making her feature screenwriting debut) help it become much more than might be expected.

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Jay Kelly is now playing in select theaters. It debuts on Netflix on December 5.

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