In the comedy, Brad’s Status, released in 2017, Ben Stiller (the titular Brad) takes his son to tour colleges and triggers a crisis of confidence with his own career and life choices.
Brad, who, despite a good career and happy family, is obsessed with the better fortunes of his old friends from school. While escorting his musical prodigy son (played by Austin Abrams) on an East Coast tour of colleges, he is forced to confront the success of his friends and his own feelings of failure….
“I work for a nonprofit and I have nothing to show for it.”
By comparison, his college pals are now a Hollywood bigshot (White), a hedge fund founder (Luke Wilson), a tech entrepreneur (Jemaine Clement), and a political pundit and bestselling author (Michael Sheen). (Source: Variety)
That comparison between oneself and the successes of friends and family is something that is universal. Not only do many people experiences midlife crises due to the feeling that they have made the wrong choices or missed out on ‘exciting’ opportunities, but when confronted with others’ success it’s possible for feelings of inadequacy to arise.
Although since Brad’s Status is a comedy this may be a lighter take on the situation.
Ben Stiller has lately perfected the role of the flawed but mostly likable aging man in indie dramedies about flawed but mostly likable white people. These movies—Greenberg, While We’re Young—are also quite good, which is why we welcome the trailer for Stiller’s next film, Brad’s Status. (Source: Slate)
Have you seen the film? How does Brad deal with his crisis? Does the depiction ring true? Share your thoughts in the comments below!