Amazon Studios released the trailer for "Brad's Status," which stars Ben Stiller as the titular, melancholy character, who is touring colleges with his teen son (Austin Abrams). Being around the youth, and listening to his son's hopes and dreams, triggers something of a mid-life crisis.
Brad, who works for a non-profit, can't help comparing how his unspectacular life turned out to his own college friends, who are working for the White House, running hedge funds, and retired from selling their tech companies.
The movie, which comes from writer/director Mike White, seems to be a heartwarming (but not treacly) buddy story about Brad and his son, one wrestling with the journey he's taken and the other just starting on his own. And it's good to see Stiller flexing his dramatic muscles again.
"Brad's Status" also stars Jenna Fischer, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, and Jemaine Clement, and opens in theaters September 15.