Brad’s Status, written and directed by Mike White - Eight out of 10

Brad’s Status, written and directed by Mike White

Eight out of 10

Even if it is not miraculous and the film that you must not miss, Brad’s Status is thought provoking and in an age when Transformers, X – Men, Fast and Furious invade the screens with their sequels, prequels and spin offs this is more than remarkable and makes the feature worth watching.

Ben Stiller is such an accomplished actor that he can take on rather challenging roles, outside the typecasting stereotypes that would suggest comedy, and Brad Sloan, the hero of this narrative is indeed a complex character.

Brad’s Status is an enviable one, for he belongs to the upper class, he can contemplate the prospect of seeing his son, Troy Sloan, through one of the best universities in the world.

However, he does not respect one of the rules of happiness – Positive Psychology has identified them and one of them indicates: “you must not compare yourself to others”.

Indeed, H.L. Mencken has said that:

“A man’s satisfaction with his salary depends on whether he makes more than his wife’s sister’s husband”.

Studies in the same domain of Positive Psychology have shown that money do not offer the key to happiness, one example being the case of lottery winners who have suddenly gained over one million dollars.

Yes, they have experienced a boost in wellbeing, but after a few months, they have returned to their set-point level of happiness, due in large part to the phenomenon called Hedonic Adaptation.

Brad Sloan is however envious and thinks of the success of his – former friends? One may wonder if we can still call them that, Thomas Mann has a short story that suggests that we use too liberally words like friends; I love you, when the true sentiments described by them can only be found in books.

Craig Fisher aka Michael Sheen has worked at the White House, is now invited on talk shows, his books are bestsellers and when they dine in a restaurant, the maître d’ recognizes him.

Furthermore, to the chagrin of the hero, when he entered the restaurant, he is given a table in an unpleasant spot and told that there is no alternative, and when Craig shows, the table that Brad wanted becomes miraculously free.

Another former friend, Jason Hatfield aka Luke Wilson has a hedge fund firm, making many millions – quite possibly hundreds or even billions – of dollars and he owns a private jet.

Or so our hero thinks, for when he mentions the subject in a phone call, Jason denies it – for it may cause trouble, as Craig would explain – and adds that his youngest child – one of four – has to have urgent surgery.

This would be reason enough for the depressed, self-pitying protagonist to understand his Status, to see that beyond wealth there are other things – the difference between “to be and to have” for one.

If we make this about the science of Happiness, research has concentrated on finding out what makes the happiest men and women happy and the result is that they share one element:

They have strong ties with a circle of devoted friends and family members…not lots of money…arguably, it is better to be time affluent – like yours truly – than rich in material things.

Another member of the old gang of friends, Billy Wearslter aka the charming Jermaine Clement, has sold his company and lives now on the heavenly island of Maui, with two creative, young girls.

Craig would point out the flaws in this perfect scenario, eventually bringing the blasé Brad to the realization of yet another rule from the Secret book of Happiness, which is not secret at all – but humor is a paramount element within:

Be grateful for what you have…

Actually, there is a Happiness Exercise that has proved its merit on tens – maybe hundreds or more now – of thousands of people who have participated in the research on this:

Every day – ion one version, it could be once a week – you write down three or maybe five things that happened during it and after some weeks, you find out that you become happier…the Count Your Blessings process.

As for Brad’s Status, it may improve, for his son may have a chance at Harvard, no less, but he needs to exercise more.