Film Review: Brad’s Status (2017) (Patreon)

IMDB 

Brad’s Status is directed by Mike White and stars Ben Stiller as Brad Sloan, a father who takes his son to tour colleges on the East Coast while struggling with feelings of inferiority built up over years of comparing himself to his old college friends who became much more successful that he is. 

The film deals with various issues which I’ve already addressed in some of my videos, most notably perhaps my recent video on It’s a Wonderful Life; like George Bailey, Brad is also plagued with ambitions he didn’t get to realize and a lack of appreciation for the life he does have. But unlike It’s a Wonderful Life; Brad’s Status is more centered around the relation between Brad and his son and really shows how our unfulfilled dreams can affect others as well as Brad begins to project his own shortcomings onto his son in the strangely selfish desire to elevate his status through his son’s achievements. It also has elements of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Brad, like Walter, frequently lets his mind wander to the life that could have been instead of staying present in the life right in front of him. 

I think the film did take a bit of a risk with Brad’s character as he really is just a semi-successful white man feeling bad about not making it into the 1%. A character like this could have easily come off as unsympathetic but fortunately Ben Stiller brings a very likeable presence to the film (as he always does in my opinion). The film also has enough self-awareness about the rather luxurious nature of Brad’s discontentment and even explicitly criticizes it at some point which prevents the story from becoming self-indulgent. 

Nevertheless, however you may feel about first-world issues like these, I do believe it’s important to acknowledge that they are real to the people experiencing them. Especially in our modern day society; the amount of people who are, to a greater or lesser extent, experiencing these more abstract issues is growing ever more significant which is why I’ve always thought it is important to explore and discuss them. Brad’s Status does this effectively without over-extending its reach. Ultimately, it’s a fairly contained and heartfelt character study about a man doing some soul-searching as he’s growing older. It’s nicely filmed, the acting was great, and the story even has a few small, but interesting twists that really elevate the film as a whole. 

This was my brief review of Brad’s Status. If you haven’t seen the film, I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out. If you have, please let me know your thoughts on it in the comments below (but please be mindful of spoilers)!