Brad's Status

Ben Stiller is actually a really accomplished serious actor but much like other people who got their fame and fortune from comedy, he doesn't get many opportunities to play more serious roles. Every now and then he gets a shot though and I feel as though he nails it most of the time.

Brad's Status is a good example of how Ben is transitioning into being older and while his life in the film is very different from my own I feel it is a good representation of how people start to have unwarranted regrets as they reach the midway point in their lives.

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This film never saw any sort of widespread release but it is now available on Netflix. It seems that more and more films with smaller budgets are going this route these days as our cinemas only seem to get major action or superhero films. This is disappointing to me but in the case of Brad's Status there isn't much reason to ever watch this on a big screen. The effect is just as good in your living room.

The story centers around Brad (Stiller) and his son Troy (Austin Abrams) as they make a trip to check out the colleges that Troy has interest in attending next year. During the time that they are on this road trip, Brad starts to reflect on his own college friendships and starts to get down on himself because his core group of friends from his own college days are so much more financially successful than he is. I suppose this would make anyone feel a bit bad, it would to me as well.

We all have the potential for regret but just as is exhibited in this film, a lot of fears are probably unwarranted. Brad finds out along the way that although his friends have done pretty well in their careers, their lives are far from the perfect that he imagines. He keeps envisioning this life of carefree opulence but when he meets up with or talks to his friend upon visiting Boston. He is able to see that they have their own problems and many of them are much greater than his own.

For me this was an important film to watch because I think that all of us are guilty of being pessimistic "what if?" type of people from time to time and get down on ourselves a lot more than we should. Social media also contributes to these feelings of inadequacy because our friends only post the great stuff in their lives such as their feet on the sand at beaches, not the price tag and the hassle that was the travel to get to there in the first place.

The movie is also a wonderful story about a father who has done the best that he could for his son and a son that genuinely appreciates this. I have no children, that is one of my big "what if's" At the same time though I have a lot more freedom and money than my friends who did have kids and they are probably wondering the same thing but in reverse whenever they meet me.

I think we all have regrets in life that we probably think about too much not realizing that not only did those "mistakes" make us who we are today, but in the meantime the people that we think have perfect lives have their own very real struggles that they do not make public. In short, most people have it a lot better than they think.

Should I watch it?

I think this one gets a definite yes even though the trailer looks like it will be a bit slow. Because of the creative use of flashbacks and narration or internal dialogue by Stiller, the pacing of the movie flows really well, even though it is just a bunch of walking around Boston and looking at colleges. While officially listed as a comedy-drama, there wasn't very much in the way of comedy in the entire film. I think it is just protocol that anytime Stiller is in something it has to be listed as a comedy even when it isn't. I don't think that most people will regret watching this especially if they are men getting near 40 years of age.