Brad's Status

It’s about time that a strong midlife crisis movie hit theaters. 

Brad’s Status is that film, direct from the mind of the prolific Mike White, who takes a significant step up from his other major 2017 project, the under-formed Beatriz at Dinner script.

Crafting a well-rounded collection of believable characters this go-round, White zeroes in on the titular father (Ben Stiller) as he accompanies his musical prodigy son Troy (Austin Abrams, Paper Towns) to tour prestigious Boston area colleges.

Backed by an amusing Tenenbaum-y score from Mark Mothersbaugh, Brad reflects via generally effective voiceover on his life, specifically the disappointments with which it stacks up to those of his seemingly more successful college friends (Michael Sheen, Jemaine Clement and Luke Wilson, all of whom deliver fully-formed personas in limited screen time).

His tragicomic revelations may not be revelatory, but as a reflection of Generation X conundrums and how they stack up to those of Millennials, they’re surprisingly close to it, especially when provided by the younger minds.

Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at Carolina Cinemark

(Photo: Annapurna Pictures)