1. Brad’s Status; movie review

BRAD'S STATUS
Cert 15

102 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

Have you ever fallen into the trap of looking around you and secretly envied the lives of friends or acquaintances?
Should I be man enough to admit on a very rare occasion, I may have thought that I should have had a bigger house or flashier car?
I am lucky because these drifts into materialism are relatively rare. To Mrs W and I, family comes much higher than personal possessions or individual success.
However, despite our best intentions, the sixth of the seven deadly sins does manage to wheedle its way into our psyche.
That is why we understood Ben Stiller's Brad, despite our irritation with him.

In Michael White's Brad's Status, the title character wastes much time navel-gazing and wishing he had the same levels of what he perceives as success as his former college mates.
He views their seats in business class as the realisation of the dream. They are at the pinnacle and he believes he deserves to be there too - the only problem is that he has not even gone down the career boulevard which leads to riches.
His obsession with others' wealth prompts him to utter: "There are moments when you realise you whole life's work is absurd."
I hope that most people who see this film will recognise that very statement is ridiculously pessimistic.
Brad actually should be celebrating the brilliance of his son (Austin Abrams) with whom he is visiting potential universities in Boston.
The teenager is an underplayed, loyal and highly-gifted musician who fortunately has the laid-back genes of his mother (Jenna Fischer).
But instead of bathing in the fact that he is a winner by having such a wonderful son and wife, Brad continues to do himself down.
"Do I sound jaded?", he asks when outlining his supposed career failures and while looking back at his life.
Actually, the answer is that he sounds boring not jaded and should stop competing with those who are not competing with him.
Stiller represents this midlife crisis with crunching accuracy and Abrams rebutts succinctly but that doesn't mean it makes easy viewing (the experience is not helped by grating violins throughout).
Meanwhile, Michael Sheen, Jemaine Clement and Luke Wilson play the friends with whom he would change places.
Of course, he would be wrong - as we all would.

Reasons to watch: an accurate assessment of faux aspirations of midlife
Reasons to avoid: it just doesn't make very comfortable viewing

Laughs: two
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Mike White, writer and director: "You may have a good life and from someone else's point of view you are doing great but you still have those moments when you're lying in bed and like.. "does the world love me?"

The big question.. why are mattresses and pillows always so puffed up and crisp in the movies? (see Stiller's scene with Fischer)

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