Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Brad's Status Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 3, 2018

What is life? What does it really mean to live? Beyond the biological truisms, what is it that molds one's perception of life? Can one be content with who one is and what one has, or does one allow jealousy, things out of reach, false gods, and phony ideals to dictate some view that anything but "besting" everyone else is a failure? Brad's Status tells the story of a man who laments his place in life. He cannot keep up with his Jonses, his buddies from college, whom he sees living glamorous, big money lifestyles, carefree and enjoying every breath as he struggles to maintain his sanity and equilibrium, because a roof over his head, a loving wife, a talented son, and relative comfort just aren't enough for him. It’s a movie about reflection, perception, fear, and doubt and how his outlook shifts to a more accepting and positive and hopeful one as he comes to learn a number of truths about his friends, his son, and himself on a days-long college tour across the country, thousands of miles from everything he knows and the things that had previously shaped his negative outlook on himself, his prospects, his friends, and the world.

Lost.

Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) is a husband and father. His wife Melanie (Jenna Fischer) loves him and his son Troy (Austin Abrams) is a college-bound teenager and musical prodigy with a Harvard acceptance letter almost certainly in his future. Brad's got a nice house, lives in comfort...but none of it is enough. Brad has spent the years not enjoying his son growing up but rather fighting bitter jealously that his circle of friends from college has gone on to live lives of luxury, working in politics, entertainment, and business and finding success as easy as breathing. He worries incessantly about money, going so far as to wish for deaths in the family to make things more financially secure for himself. He flies cross-country with his son to tour Harvard and Tufts, but the looming cost of education is ruining the experience. When Troy accidentally misses his admissions interview, Brad has no choice but to dig back into his past for some help in the present, and as he does so a number of truths come to light that force him to reconsider his place in and outlook on life.

Central to the film is the life lesson about finding true happiness in the everyday joys of life. There’s nothing wrong with striving to bigger and better heights, but there’s a fine line between narrowly focused upward aspirations and losing sight of the bigger picture. Life isn’t about accumulation, it’s about contentment. Life isn’t a number in a bank account but rather the warmth in the heart. The film cautions against the lustful want for more and prideful self-centeredness. It champions being happy with and true to oneself. It’s about cherishing the gift of family and enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Does money truly buy happiness? Is the high life really living large? And are those other people, those who seem to have it all together, who are so aloof and lost at their very core fundamental humanity, really worth the stress and aggravation?

Brad’s Status shapes its character and his perception of life forcefully, but gently. Brad’s singular focus on accumulation and looking for happiness in everything but what’s directly in front of him, what he’s lived with for decades, has become lost to the singular obsession of more. Throughout his journey, he’s forced to reexamine his priorities and find the simple joys in life -- a tickle and wrestle match with his son -- that cost nothing but that are in turn worth everything. But that demon named more is always there, so ever-present that he cannot even bask in his son’s success for fear of being overshadowed and his self worth plummet further. But as his story unfolds, he comes to learn that life is indeed not the sum total of the sum in the bank account but rather the sum of experiences, the ups and downs, the moments of happiness and the sorrows that invariably come with them. Those people he thought lived perfect lives? They don’t. They struggle. They hurt, Maybe they have more money, but the circle of life makes its way around to them, too, and the question is whether Brad can finally figure out that he doesn’t have it so bad after all.

Ben Stiller is amazing as the title character. He wears the joys of the past, the doubts of the present, and the fears of the future on every facial expression, all swirling about with each troubled, soulfully devastating step towards a future he sees as dark and gloomy rather than hopeful and promising. His entire existence, his every waking moment, only promotes further doubts and fears, and Stiller captures that decline with uncanny authenticity and capability, the pain and despair evident in the eyes as a haunting of his own making slowly destroys him. It’s a total knockout of a performance that’s not matched (and how can it be with such depth of character at stake) but certainly supported by a handful of wonderful secondary actors who shine as Brad’s son and a couple of his old acquaintances who may not have the perfect existence he believes they enjoy.

Brad's Status Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Brad's Status offers all the comforts and refinements of today's higher end digitally shot productions. Sharp, robust details are common. Well defined textural excellence right down to fine hairs and fabrics are always evident, even in lesser lighting in locations like dimly and warmly lit bars. Broader skin and clothing textures and environmental qualities are clear and exceptionally detailed throughout. Colors are healthy, color depth is excellent, plenty of vitality is ever-apparent, and the image is never wanting for large splashes of intense shades, particularly colorful clothes and well-manicured lawns on college campuses. Black levels are fine and skin tones appear healthy and true. Noise is moderate, particularly in lower light, but no other serious eyesores are readily apparent. This is a top-notch new release from Universal.

Brad's Status Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Brad's Status features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film isn't constantly in need of high-energy intensity, but it makes the most of the mostly modest and only briefly more aggressive moments within. Environmental ambience is nicely immersive and seamlessly implemented. Whether background chatter and odds and ends at an airport or more densely packed bars and restaurants, the track never struggles to draw thew listener into the film's varied environments. Music is wonderfully detailed and true, whether overlaid score or an orchestral performance near film's end that is fluid and clean, breathtakingly detailed and perfect. Dialogue propels most of the film, and it's expectedly excellent, commanding of the stage and positioned in the front-center.

Brad's Status Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Brad's Status contains a handful of brief extras. A digital copy code is included included with purchase.

• A Look at Ben Stiller as Brad (1080p, 2:32): Cast and crew talk up the qualities Stiller brings to the film.
• A Culture of Comparing Ourselves (1080p, 2:31): A closer look at the core plot dynamic that troubles Brad.
• Mike White on Directing His Own Script (1080p, 2:31): The Writer/Director/Actor discusses why it was important that the direct the film he wrote. Additional cast chime in as well.
• The Story of Brad's Status (1080p, 2:40): A quick discussion of the story and its depth.

Brad's Status Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Brad's Status is a superb film that leaves behind the noise and visual wonders that are so dominant in today's cinema and instead explores a man in crisis in middle age, who believes his best days are behind him, the world and his friends have passed him by, and that his lot in life is to bemoan his supposed failures and perceived financial inadequacies. Ben Stiller is fantastic in the lead role, displaying a dramatic range and depth that's quite unlike anything else the actor has achieved before. Universal's Blu-ray is top-notch, at least in the video and audio departments. Supplements are sparse and brief, but the disc nevertheless comes highly recommended.