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In "Ezra," the pride of Hudson County plays Max, a stand-up comedian from the Garden State who lives with his father, portrayed by Robert De Niro.
Max pursues his career while trying to co-parent his 11-year-old son with ex-wife (and Cannavale's real-life partner) Rose Byrne.
Max lands a gig on Jimmy Kimmel's show in Hollywood, but the plane fare isn't comped. So he and young Ezra -- who has autism -- embark on a life-changing cross-country trip that raises some difficult questions.
If the dramedy's trailer is any indication, be sure to have the tissues handy.
“You’re fighting for something,” De Niro's character tells Max at one point. “You might have to suffer consequences, but it’s worth it because you did it.”
Later, Cannavale is heard saying: “A dad’s job is to take his son down the field. If he gets tackled, all that dad wants is for that kid to pick up the ball and to take it the rest of the way.”
Much of the film is a Jersey affair.
In a breakout performance as the youngster for whom the film is named is William A. Fitzgerald of Montclair.
Also featured is Fair Lawn's Donna Vivino, the niece of brothers "Uncle Floyd" Vivino and guitarist Jimmy Vivino and the daughter of sax player Jerry Vivino.
There's also West Orange's Whoopi Goldberg, as Cannavale's agent, and Clifton's Vera Farmiga as a woman from his past.
New Jersey provided several shooting locations for "Ezra," whose working title at the time was "Inappropriate Behavior."
Locales included Conrad's Confectionery in downtown Westwood, the landmark Classic Diner in Northvale, the intimate Avenel Performing Arts Center in Middlesex County, Paterson's School No. 29, Jersey City's Edwards Charter School, Palisade Stages in Kearny and the Green Village Deli in Chatham.
Early reviews praise its leading man, who's already one of the state's critically acclaimed actors.
"Cannavale knows he’s landed a great role and really runs with it," wrote Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter. "He’s entirely credible as both a stand-up comic in the Mort Sahl vein and as a fiercely protective dad whose desire for Ezra to live a 'normal' life occasionally blinds him to what best serves his son."
Cannavale, 53, was born in 1970 at what was once North Hudson Hospital on the border of Union City and Weehawken. His dad was of Italian descent and his mom had emigrated from Cuba a decade earlier.
As a child he played Winthrop in "The Music Man" and a gangster in "Guys and Dolls."
Cannavale was an altar boy and a member of the chorus at St. Michael's RC Church before his parents divorced and his mother moved the family first from Union City to Puerto Rico and then to Florida.
He later returned to New Jersey to live with his grandmother while earning his diploma at what was then Union Hill High School (now a middle school) on Hudson Avenue.
Cannavale first caught people's attention when he stole the show in an off-Broadway production of David Rabe's "Hurlyburly," which co-starred Ethan Hawke, Parker Posey and Wallace Shawn, nearly 20 years ago.
He later became known for work on the stage, screen and TV, including his role as a paramedic on "Third Watch," and in "Boardwalk Empire," "Will & Grace," "The Station Agent" and "The Irishman," among others.
Cannavale has filmed in North Jersey before -- also with another living acting legend, Al Pacino -- in the 2015 film "Danny Collins."
Much of the shooting for the film about an aging pop star and his estranged cancer-stricken adult son was done at the Hilton Woodcliff Lake -- which closed last month -- and in Hillsdale, among other locales.
"Ezra" is due to open in theaters only on May 31.
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