About 30 miles west of Austin you'll find a wonderland where country music flows like water, everyone is your friend, and even bad weather can be magical.
The place is Willie Nelson's ranch, Luck, Texas. Originally built as the set for Nelson's 1986 film, Red Headed Stranger, the ranch now serves as the occasional host to unforgettable festivals, like the first ever Luck Reunion, held last week.
On Friday, music lovers ditched the hubbub of SXSW to gather at Nelson's ranch for a day "dedicated to cultivating and celebrating the evolution of our American roots." Guests were treated to live music, pop-up vendors, complimentary drinks, and food truck fare, plus an unexpected Central Texas storm.
While severe weather forced everyone to take shelter in cars, tents, and barns, spirits were lifted by impromptu acoustic jams from the festival's performers. And because many sets were rained out, artists and bands took the stage together to make up for lost time after the storm passed. Highlights included an intimate session with Jenny Lewis, Lucius, and Shelly Colvin inside a chapel, followed by a stripped down performance from Billy Joe Shaver.
After much anticipation, Nelson himself rocked the Revival Tent with Insects vs. Robots serving as his band — a perfect end to a crazy Hill Country night.
Willie Nelson took the stage with Insects vs. Robots.
Photo by Nicole Raney
Willie Nelson took the stage with Insects vs. Robots.
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.
---
Jay Kelly is now playing in select theaters. It debuts on Netflix on December 5.
