Bobby Cannavale and William A. Fitzgerald have strong chemistry, moving as the father-son duo at the heart of the film.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Actor-director Tony Goldwyn (“Oppenheimer”) and a wonderful cast headed by Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson, and Robert De Niro, as well as young newcomer William A. Fitzgerald, are stymied by screenwriter Tony Spiridakis, who is far too fond of melodrama, cliché, sentiment and the plot of Barry Levinson’s 1988 hit film “Rain Man.” For all his care to avoid the pitfalls of autism representation in popular culture, Spiridakis can’t resist his inclination to lay it on as thickly as possible dramatically, weighing down the film.
The young Ezra (a fine Fitzgerald) is a preteen autistic boy whose needs are the number one concern of his extended family. This includes his father, Max Brandel (Cannavale), a struggling New York City stand-up comic still looking, along with his devoted manager Jayne (Whoopi Goldberg), for his big break. Ezra, whose parents are divorced, lives with his mother, Jenna (Byrne), a real estate agent in a relationship with a handsome lawyer named Bruce (Goldwyn). For the time being, Max lives in Hoboken with their father, Stan (De Niro), a once-celebrated New York City chef who lost every job he had because of his temper and now works as a doorman in the Village. Ezra calls Stan “Pop Pop.” They are close. Max and Jenna have agreed to co-parent Ezra. But when Ezra’s teachers recommend that he attend a school for special needs students and a doctor recommends that Ezra take medication, Max loses it. He takes the child with him on an illegal road trip to Michigan in his father’s vintage Cadillac Eldorado convertible (a car the police are sure not to notice). Can you say Amber Alert?
Still, for all its flaws, Spiridakis’ script has some nice touches. Instead of taking Ezra to a revival of “The Big Lebowski,” for which they are dressed in cosplay outfits, Max takes the boy, disguised as The Dude, to the real-life Comedy Cellar on MacDougal Street to try out a new routine for an audience that includes a scout (Geoffrey Owens) for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!.” Also, Ezra, who has a great memory, can recite “SpongeBob” jokes and watches classic movies with his father. When Max and Ezra arrive in Michigan at the home of former comic Nick (Wilson), they find him living with Sister Margaret (Jacqueline Nwabueze) of Senegal. From there, Ezra and Max go to where Max grew up in Nebraska, where they are given affection and shelter by Max’s first love, Grace (Farmiga). In these scenes, Ezra bonds with Grace’s teenage daughter Ruby, played by Matilda Lawler of HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” and Lawler almost makes off with the movie. The actor makes you believe that Ruby and Ezra form a deep, loving bond. A scene they share with a horse is one of the film’s very best. For his part, Wilson also makes Nick, who still laments being “bumped from Arsenio,” a memorable figure in record time. Still, if you’re the kind of person who might ask where those 12 cartons of ice cream came from, this film might not be your cup of peanut-brittle butterscotch.
Meanwhile, Stan and Jenna are also on the road in pursuit of Max and Ezra, first in Michigan, where they know Rick lives, and then on to Los Angeles after they find out that Max has a gig on the Kimmel Show. Perhaps, as a payback for all the publicity, Kimmel appears in the film as himself.
Cannavale and Fitzgerald have chemistry and are moving as the film’s father-son duo. Cannavale is especially touching, expressing Max’s desperation to help his son weather life’s inevitable setbacks. But Max’s determination to protect Ezra too often lands him in hot water, like when he kidnaps the kid and takes him on the road in a classic car. Is anyone else detecting shades of “Rain Man” (1988) with its reunited brothers, a road trip to L.A., and Buick Roadmaster? “I’m an excellent driver,” Dustin Hoffman’s Raymond Babbitt famously notes in that film. Luckily for us, Ezra is too young to drive.
‘Ezra’
Rating: R, profanity, sexual references, and drug use.
Cast: Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, William A. Fitzgerald, Robert De Niro
Director: Tony Goldwyn
Writer: Tony Spiridakis
Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Where to Watch: AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square, West Newton Cinema and other suburban theaters
Grade: B
Boston Movie News 