Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4

Lately when I see that Amazon Studios has a film coming out I get a sense of excitement and with films like The Big Sick, The Lost City of Z, and Manchester by the Sea how could one not be excited.  But then a moment of realization came in, I was walking into a movie written and directed by Mike White.  White has written some good things like School of Rock but he also wrote one of the most misguided movies I have seen, The Emoji Movie.  I had to walk into Brad’s Status with an attitude of hoping for the best but expecting the worst.   

Brad Sloan, played by Ben Stiller, is bored of his middle class life with his wife Melanie, played by Jenna Fischer, and son Troy, played by Austin Abrams.  All Brad does is worry that he hasn’t lived up to his full potential and think about how his college friends have a better life than him,  but he sees a shining light in the darkness when Troy begins to apply for college.  Brad and Troy go on a trip to discover what really matters in life and affirms that the family will always be there for you.   

This was an interesting film for me to watch because I realized that I relate to the the 47 year old more than I relate to anyone in my generation, or at least the mindset of someone who is having a midlife crisis.  Basically having an existential crisis every day and while it’s comforting to know that many others are having the same crisis; it’s still frustrating because we have no way out of it.  One moment you might want to punch Brad for all of his narcissistic talk but then when you realize that you are the same,  you might want to offer him a beer and talk about how life is going for the two of you.  I was completely blown away by the amount of honesty and human moments that this film had, I only have two other films that I can compare this film to and those are Manchester by the Sea and The Big Sick.  While those other films have some very comedic moments to them, Brad’s Status plays most of the moments straight making you wallow in them.     

How simplistic this film is works to it’s benefit.  Basically all you need to know is life is simple when you break it down, yes it looks incredibly difficult while in the moment, but after the situation passes you realize how easy it really was.  Love life.  Live life.  Those are the simple things that most people forget about and that I most of the time forget as well.  We shouldn’t worry about our status in life and we should never worry about how we think some people might have a better life than us, we should always live in the present and be thankful for the amazing lives that we are having.  

All of the worry that I had going into Brad’s Status clearly wasn’t necessary.  I should have trusted the Amazon brand.  Brad’s Status is the perfect film to remind us all to live in the moment and to realize we can do nothing to control life other than ride the amazing waves that it gives us.

Rating: See It  

-Jonny G