Brad's Status

Writer-director-star Mike White explores privileged midlife crisis when a neurotic father takes his talented 17-year-old son on a New England college tour. Although he lives in a beautiful home in Sacramento, CA, with a supportive wife (Jenna Fischer), angst-riddled Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) never stops whining and complaining. As an idealist, Brad has opted to work in the nonprofit sector, earning considerably less money than his Tufts University classmates: former White House press secretary-turned-author Craig (Michael Sheen), wealthy hedge-fund manager Jason (Luke Wilson), retired-in-Maui tech guru Billy (Jemaine Clement), and Hollywood director Nick (White), whose $9 million mansion is on an Architectural Digest cover. “For them, the world isn't a battlefield, it's a playground,” Brad muses. Now Brad is off to visit East Coast colleges with his son Troy (Austin Abrams), a musical prodigy who had a good chance of being accepted at Harvard—if the date for his admissions interview had not been messed up. Determined to rectify the scheduling snafu, Brad tries calling his influential college classmates. Stiller has played similar malcontent roles before, but his totally self-absorbed Brad seems somewhat smarmy, given today's real-world problems. Eventually, Brad gets his comeuppance from Troy's flautist friend Ananya (Shazi Raja) but not before he imagines running off with bikini-clad Ananya and another nubile undergrad. Ultimately, it's hard to feel much sympathy for this resentful materialist. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “A Look at Ben Stiller as Brad” (3 min.), “A Culture of Comparing Ourselves” (3 min.), “Mike White on Directing His Own Script” (3 min.), and “The Story of Brad's Status” (3 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a whiny film.] (S. Granger)