I have a low tolerance for tales of privileged white guy ennui, so I’m pleased to tell you that Brad’s Status, starring Ben Stiller as a dad with an existential crisis, is (twist!) one I actually liked!
The latest from Mike White (director of Year of the Dog, and writer of Freaks and Geeks, Chuck & Buck, and Beatriz at Dinner), Brad’s Status perfectly captures the way anxious people avoid addressing big underlying fears by coming up with peripheral worries to quietly freak out about. Brad (Stiller) is one of these people: When a tour of New England colleges with his son sparks terror about his kid leaving home, and also death, he does what any good neurotic does and obsesses over something else. Namely, the fact his life—which includes a job running a nonprofit, being married to Pam from The Office, and enough money to take his kid to visit Harvard—may not measure up to those of his fancy bros from Tufts, who seem like a bunch of terrible people.