The Debut review: Julianne Moore becomes an Oscar contender with Jesse Eisenbergs outrageous theater farce

Few things in the history of cinema are as consistently satisfying as watching Julianne Moore let loose a barrage of curse words.

Be it her saucy adult film star in Boogie Nights , her Transatlantic-accented artist in The Big Lebowski, her shattered trophy wife in Magnolia or its playful recreation on Billy on the Street , Moore can make the most out of a four-letter word.

Now, in the bouncy yet twisted comedy The Debut, she lays out her most hilarious litany of expletives yet.

But that's just one reason you can't miss her latest.

As a follow-up to his Academy Award–winning movie A Real Pain, actor turned writer/director Jesse Eisenberg offers a follow-up that's even funnier and more ferocious.

The Debut stars Moore in a mousy role that might recall her work with Todd Haynes at first.

But as Eisenberg's hilarious send-up of theater culture gains steam, this comedy pitches Moore into a satirical space where she soars in absurdity.

A bellowing Paul Giamatti is her perfect scene partner, and it's easy to imagine both are readying for an another award season run.

What is The Debut all about? Distributed by A24, The Debut centers on Mona Friedman, a New Jersey housewife so introverted she's practically invisible to her husband and teen twins.

With her nest about to be emptied by high school graduation, Mona's eager to find a new place to devote her attention, and maybe even get some of her own.

So, the auditions for the local university's production of an New York City-set musical farce called Nosy Neighbors seems an absolute dream.

Approaching the audition with all the stage presence of a damp napkin, Mona earns only a sneer from the director Jerry (Giamatti), who is regarded as a god by the jubilant, nattering theater kids, led by ingenue Stef (Halle Bailey).

But when regional theater legend Serena Cherry (Bernadette Peters, popping in to belt her heart out) bails on the production, Mona will have a chance to make her big debut — if she doesn't ruin her life first.

With a frantically farcical tone reminiscent of Only Murders in the Building , Eisenberg's comedy has elements of a psychological thriller, as Mona's quest to understand the role of building super Miss Danielle leads her to a version of method acting that is utterly deranged.