Brad's Status

In "Brad's Status," Brad's (Stiller satisfying career, sweet wife and comfortable life in suburban Sacramento aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear. (Gary Reber)

Special features include four featurettes: "A Look At Ben Stiller As Brad" (HD 02:32), "A Culture Of Comparing Ourselves" (HD 02:31), "Mike White On Directing His Own Script" (HD 02:31) and "The Story Of Brad's Status" (HD 02:40); upfront previews and a Movies Anywhere digital copy app.

The 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed digitally and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. The imagery looks fresh and present with a vividly natural color palette. Hues are rich and warm with terrific natural saturation. Colors often pop. Fleshtones are perfectly natural throughout. Contrast is well balanced with natural black levels and nicely defined shadow delineation, Resolution is excellent with fine detail revealed nicely in facial features, hair, clothing and object textures that are finely resolved. This is a wonderful picture that has a bright and engaging presence. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack is dialogue focused with a mainly front soundstage presence, supported with city ambiance as there is quite a bit of outdoors scenes and segment as well as restaurant chatter and beach environments. The music provides the essence of the surround energy, and the music is prominent throughout. The orchestral score is well recorded. Dialogue is intelligible throughout with good spatial integration. Ben Stiller's narration of Brad's inner thoughts is well balance with just the right forward presence. This works well in support of the story. (Gary Reber)