Ezra
Ezra
A stand-up comedy writer navigates the complexities of living with his father while co-parenting his autistic son with his former spouse. He grapples with hurdles as he balances family responsibilities and his career.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
Really touching road trip movie starring Bobby Cannavale as Max Bernal, a struggling stand-up comedian but devoted father to an autistic son Ezra played by William A Fitzgerald in his debut film. Max co-parents Ezra with his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne), but when circumstances take decision-making regarding Ezra’s care and education out of Max’s hands, Max (let's say) takes Ezra on a cross country road trip and to buy some time to figure out how to best advocate for his son.
The standout performance here is William A Fitzgerald. Being a neurodiverse actor himself, certainly lends an amount of authenticity to the role, but the film really wouldn’t work as well as it does without Fitzgerald’s strong performance. In addition the film takes a lot of care in depicting a neurodiverse experience. Screenwriter Tony Spiridakis based much of the film on his relationship with his own son. (I want to note that the screening I went to was a sensory friendly screening at AMC, where the volume isn’t as high and the lights aren’t fully dimmed. First one I have been to like that. I appreciate the inclusiveness of those viewing options.
While Ezra’s autism plays a major role, the overarching theme is about parenting in general, and advocating for your kids to the best of your ability. Robert De Niro plays Max’s father and their relationship provides for one of the more moving moments of the film.
Not everything completely works. There’s a subplot of Max landing a spot on Jimmy Kimmel, which is part of the reason for the cross country road trip. That entire subplot felt like it was there to setup a mid-credits joke. Hearts in the right place, though and the cast makes it easy to overlook some of the minor flaws. Whoopi Goldberg, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson and DeNiro fill in the supporting roles nicely. But Cannavale is really excellent in lead. Probably his best performance I’ve seen from him. An easy recommendation if you get a chance.