And now finally, “The Debut.”
Jesse Eisenberg’s much touted comedy came to the New York Film Festival last night. It’s an understatement to say it went over big time.
Julianne Moore, you may have heard, is on her way to a second Oscar for Best Actress. She doesn’t have much competition but it doesn’t matter. She’d win even if Meryl Streep and Glenn Close were up against her. She received outbreaks of applause and laughter three times during last night’s screening.
Paul Giamatti can do no wrong. He’ll be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
But it’s Eisenberg who’s the real star. He’s blossomed into a real director-writer-auteur. His last film, “A Real Pain,” was brilliant, and produced an acting Oscar for Kieran Culkin. That would have been enough proof, but “The Debut” cinches it.
I ran into all of them at a pre-screening reception last night at the all new spectacular Bar Boulud on Broadway. This is a trio that knows they’ve made a great gem of a film but — being New Yorkers — it’s all very low key. Jesse even said to me before the screening, “I hope we get a good reception from this crowd.”
How could they not? For one thing, last night’s audience couldn’t have been more custom-made. It was a big Broadway crowd, so much so that Tony winner Bernadette Peters — who sings like a bird in the movie — got a bigger ovation during the introductions that Moore or Giamatti. Peters doesn’t seem to age. She needs to be in more movies!
What is “The Debut” about? In suburban New Jersey, lonely wife and mother of twins-about-to-leave-for-college Mona Friedman (no relation to me because she’s fictional) auditions for a local theater production of a fictitious musical called “Nosy Neighbors.” Giamatti is the director, Jerry, a little imperious but also humorously wise. The cast of “Nosy Neighbors” also includes Stef, a startling good Haile Bailey (she and her real life sister Chloe are pop stars discovered by Beyonce).
Eisenberg wrote the whole fake musical including seven songs. At the screening last night we were each handed a real Playbill for the made up show, which was hilarious and dead serious. Something to remember: “The Debut” is not a satire. It’s a loving look at community theater and the trajectory of Mona’s discovery of herself.
Moore, who has an Oscar for “Still Alice,” benefits from Eisenberg’s tailor made script. (He’s also in the film, as cast member of “Nosy Neighbors.”) This will be her legacy movie performance, however. She’s transcendent as Mona makes her journey from pipsqueak to out of control “star.” Mona is like an onion who gets peeled down to her core, and Moore is never less than fascinating to watch in the process.
PS The picture I used was of Peters on stage last night mimicking the ads for “Evita.” In the movie, she plays a well known local actress who once starred in a production of “Evita.” Mona often sees her poster at the theater. There are a lot of Easter eggs for theater kids in the movie.
