Studio: Decal Releasing
Release Date: 7/23/2024
Rating: R
Film Grade: D
The Story: Max is a struggling standup comedian. While once a successful writer for late-night talk shows, he now concentrates on his own material. To make ends meet after splitting with his wife, Jenna, he’s forced to live with his father. Complicating things, Max has to cope with helping raise his autistic son, Ezra.
Ezra has been acting up more and more in schools, creating a conflict between Jenna and Max on what’s best for him. As the options shrink and the stakes increase, Max makes a hasty, desperate decision that will change their lives forever.
My Take: I did not like this movie. It’s an unpleasant story filled with (mostly) unlikeable characters. While titled Ezra, it really should have been called Max, as the movie revolves around him. His slice-of-life jokes aren’t funny and he’s a selfish jerk with all the foresight of a fruit fly. He views his never growing up as an asset. Pairing that with an impulsive, aggressive posture and short temper creates problems that won’t garner much sympathy from the audience.
This is surprising, considering the assembled cast. Bobby Cannavale throws himself into the role without any reservations, he’s full of both energy and emotion. But the character is so stupid and abrasive that he builds a wall between the movie and viewers. Robert De Niro plays his father in a typical De Niro way. His performance is fine, other than being saddled with a few hokey moments of self-realization and belated parenting. Then there’s William A. Fitzgerald as the title character. The filmmakers wanted authenticity in the role and picked him for his resemblance to the writer’s actual son, and they made a good choice. The problem is that both Max and the film treat him more as a prop than as a central character.
The rest of the cast is used mostly in a supporting way. Rose Byrne is effective, but underused, as Jenna. Whoopi Goldberg appears here in a throwaway role that could have been filled by just about anyone. Other notables include Vera Farmiga and Rainn Wilson, both wasted in undeveloped parts.
There’s room in a movie like this to take a hard look at important topics, such as the advantages of mainstreaming special needs kids versus a focused approach to their education, the role of medication, and the balance parents face between careers and family. None of this is examined in any kind of meaningful way, rather it’s simply used for plot points. If you’re looking for something thought-provoking on the subject matter, you won’t find it here.
Visuals: The picture looked fine. Nothing stood out as either outstanding in either a good or bad way, completely in line with what you would expect for this kind of movie.
Audio: This is your standard 5.1 mix for a drama. There’s one scene shot in a moving, open convertible that sounded claustrophobic and muffled. Other than that, dialog was clear.
Special Features: The disc includes a lengthy discussion between director/costar Tony Goldwyn and writer Tony Spiridakis talking about the long road to getting this movie made. It offers some insight into the inspiration and development of the film that may be of interest to viewers.
Final Verdict: Given the subject matter, I went into this thinking it would be a dramedy built around the challenges and rewards of raising an autistic child. Well, there’s no real comedy, failing to even elicit a chuckle from me, and the movie fails to feature any of the joys that can come with parenting a kid on the spectrum. It certainly doesn’t shy away from the taxing aspects, but Max is the bigger challenge. That the film chooses to go light on the consequences of his brash and idiotic decisions only serve to make it a superficial portrayal of a father with a “good heart.”
While not overly long at just an hour and 41 minutes, the movie does drag in spots, allowing one to contemplate just how dumb parts of the plot are. I couldn’t wait for it to reach its conclusion. This is a rare instance where I formed my letter grade early on in the movie, and it only continued to solidify throughout the viewing.
I’m sure that there’s an audience that will love this movie, no doubt in empathy for Ezra and the actor portraying him. Call me heartless, but I found the character to be written in a shallow, manipulative way, only serving the needs of Max’s story. This is through no fault of the actor; it’s purely how the role was written and directed. My wife was much more generous toward the film and would have given it a C-.
Fun Fact: Stick around for the credits for a surprise cameo appearance.
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup