Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) can't sleep, but he's actually unable to breathe. Thoughts of missed opportunities in life and the thrill of the hunt being gone have suddenly surrounded his quaint and collective suburban life, begging for a cumulative review. He is a passionate soul who runs a non-profit agency that helps small businesses, and his wife Melanie (Jenna Fischer) works for their government. Money is tight, the house is a sizable treat, but did Brad miss out?
Mike White's new film, Brad's Status, is an effective and thought provoking film about choice and how knowing when you have enough is not as easy as it looks.
When Brad takes his college bound son, Troy (Austin Abrams) to Boston for some campus tours, Brad's world begins to collapse onto itself due to a wicked cocktail of jealousy, lust, and pride fueled regret. His college friends seem to have it all: Craig Fisher (Michael Sheen) is a political analyst who actually gets tired of T.V. appearances; Nick (White, sans dialogue) is a successful Hollywood director; Billy (Jemaine Clement) is retired on an island at the age of 40 with two girlfriends; Jason (Luke Wilson) owns a successful hedge fund company.
Through a series of events, Brad reconnects with his old pals, learns a few lessons, and runs this gauntlet of emotions with his son, who is sitting around waiting for his dad to plug back in.
I liked the restrained approach that White takes with the father-son dynamic in this film. Instead of pouring on the manipulative melodrama that would get the job done quicker but in a less effective way, the director allows the divide and reconnect between Brad and Troy to take its time.
The honesty of the script aides a movie with a protagonist that you may not always like. Brad comes off as selfish and cracks way too often, but I enjoyed the fact that his learning curve wasn't sped up, so a movie could simply get the job done. He has an up and down experience, thus making his plight come off as honest.
I like the real world self-conscious Stiller that comes to life in films like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, While We're Young, and Greenberg. If there is a true disciple to Woody Allen in the acting world, it's Stiller when he cuts the box office star glaze and goes for the underrated owner of heartbreak's hotel. Brad's Status finds him in that mode and his ability to create a multi-faceted character takes the film to another level. The more Stiller leans into the old lion full of unfortunate thoughts persona, the bigger fan I become of his work. Like a carpenter finding out which tool he can get the most work done with, Stiller needs to play more of these doubtful heroes.
Abrams initially came off as smug and hollow, but builds Troy from the inside out through the second half of the film. Sheen and Wilson fare the best their smaller roles while Fischer simply doesn't get much to work with. It's Stiller's show and he even makes Brad's voiceover seem less distracting with his delivery.
Brad's Status does ride a predictable wave and it's not hard to see where it's going. But I really admired the way White wrapped it up with a quiet dialogue driven scene slowly playing out instead of a loud Jerry Maguire type moment of clarity. In life, the clarifications don't often spark a huge outburst of emotion. Sometimes, you simply register a reality that was sitting in front of you plain as day and adjust your expectations. White respected that, and let Stiller and Abrams bring it home.
Brad's Status asks important questions about morality and its limits. There are times in my own life where I wonder if I had made a few different moves, how different my life would be? Everyone does it, before coming back to where they need to be. Here is a classic indie film: a story that makes you reflect on your life and a cast and crew that knows how to deliver it without pushing too hard.
Brad may not know his status, but I can tell you his story is worth checking out if you crave honesty in your cinematic adventures.
