Noah Baumbach ’s best work is invariably personal. Though none could be called strictly autobiographical, films like The Squid and the Whale , Marriage Story , Frances Ha and The Meyerowitz Stories all bear the unmistakable signs of lived experience — of family, marriage, parenthood, friendship or milieu. It’s possible that in his latest feature, Jay Kelly , co-written with Emily Mortimer, the pampered Hollywood star and the selfless manager who always puts his client’s needs first are versions of industry professionals Baumbach has encountered. But only faintly possible. Mostly, they seem like made-to-measure components of a bittersweet buddy movie that overloads on saccharine.

Noah Baumbach ’s best work is invariably personal. Though none could be called strictly autobio

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