Brad’s Status (2017)

C – 102m
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 – Widescreen (Theatrical) / 2.40:1 – Widescreen (Blu–ray)
Exec. Prod.: Brad Pitt
Writer – Dir.: Mike White
Starring: Ben Stiller, Austin Abrams, Jenna Fischer, Michael Sheen, Jemaine Clement, Luke Wilson, Shazi Raja, Luisa Lee, Mike White, Felicia Shulman, Jonah Carson, Kenny Wong and Jimmy Kimmel.

A man going through a midlife crisis takes his son to tour colleges and meets up with an old friend who makes him feel inferior about his own life choices. Sad, off–putting, and at times hard to take comedy drama… The major thing here is the midlife crisis that messes with Stiller’s characters’ head. The film is hard to take at times particularly if you know people who make the same boneheaded statements that Stiller’s character makes to his family and friends repeatedly. A more up–lifting, and granted suicidal, version of this story (a man taking stock of his life) can be found in the Christmas time classic: It’s A Wonderful Life (1947) (see review). And an equally sad but more moving version of the story can be found in the John Cassavetes masterpiece: Husbands (1970) (see review). Granted there are a few comedic moments here and there, it is a Ben Stiller film after all. The cast does its best with the material but the results are best summed up as off–putting.

Trivia: Director Mike White’s father worked as a minister and at times questioned his own success. According to director White, he made this film to thank his father and to tell him that he found him, his father, to be successful. Director Mike White plays Nick in a cameo by the way. Many of the scenes set in Boston, MA, USA were actually shot in Montreal, Canada.

Rated: [R] – Language
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy