NJ actor Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut looks amazing

I think I may like Jesse Eisenberg even more as a director than an actor.

If you don’t know much about him, think “Zombieland” and “Justice League.” Or his academy award-nominated performance as Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.” (And was that really 12 years ago already?)

The actor grew up in East Brunswick. Fun fact: his mother was a professional clown for children’s parties for 20 years. How many kids can grow up saying that? He attended East Brunswick High School but hated school and instead loved acting. He was acting at the age of 10.

After 52 acting credits the 39 year old is now making his directorial debut with a movie called “When You Finish Saving the World.” It’s an R-rated film about a teenage son and his uptight mother trying to connect with very different values. She runs a shelter for victims of domestic violence. He live streams his music to a 20,000 strong fan base.

I didn’t think much of the description until I watched the trailer, which you can watch here.

There’s something brilliant about this for which I can’t find the words. Seldom does a movie trailer make me want to see a movie. In this case it makes me need to. I don’t know if it strikes a chord because my own mother and I and so different. But from the trailer alone it seems intelligently written and it feels like a movie I’ve never seen before. Which is rare.

The son is played by Finn Wolfhard and the mom by Julianne Moore. It’s released on January 20, 2023.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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