The Meyerowitz Stories

Plant an academic-artistic Jewish-American family in contemporary Manhattan, and you have neurotic conversation, bruising relationships, and repentance all learned from Woody Allen if not for real. Even more than Woody's endearing situations, this one is bloodier but more forgiving.

Noah Baumbach's Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected),a Netflix original, is touchingly funny about two Meyerowitz sons, musician Danny (Adam Sandler) and financier Matt (Ben Stiller) celebrating their mediocre-sculptor-professor father, Harold (Dustin Hoffman), and their constant jockeying for position with him and themselves. It's not a hilarious comedy, but the nerdy-New-Yorker motif shows it is still satisfyingly amusing.

Baumbach perfectly tunes us to Danny's alienation from Dad and Matt's clueless realization of his role as favored one. Danny's opening sequence trying to find a parking spot in the East Village is an emblem of his consistent failures and the disintegration of the fractured family holding on to hopes about the deed for Dad's apartment.

Most of what happens is off-center from the truth of things, as is probably true of most families whose perception of each other is skewered by family culture and parental politics. The dialogue is both banal and profound, just the way we all live except that few of us are Jewish or live in Manhattan, two invaluable elements that provide subtle hilarity. When feelings are exposed, the dialogue turns almost Eugene O'Neill-like.

Most touching about these stories, which are chapters partly devoted to the three males, are almost seamless revelations about the family and their unspooling in a leisurely but sometimes devastating way. About the daily dialogue, Baumbach can't be bested, maybe except for Allen in his prime and Baumbach's girlfriend, Greta Gerwig, whose wispiness is gone from Baumbach here, but all the better for this urbane grit: "Brian and James, who you've met..." Matthew "Very charming interracial, homosexual couple, and smart about the work. They were familiar with Gilded Halfwing [Harold's prized but ignored sculpture]." Harold

Keeping things low key from beginning to end, the story presents a realistic family dynamic that's subtly dysfunctional. The ridiculously star studded cast all offer up believable, understated performances, and it's easy to find the characters relatable. The film stays so true to life that it can occasionally get a bit dull. I'd say for the most part it hovers just above being boring, but I could see someone who's used to more fast paced fare consider it's dry delivery to be a tedious slog.

This film shows how Actor, Adam Sandler can play a dramatic role well (also/more so 'Uncut Gems'), Ben Stiller too, performs great through this film. This film touches upon the conflicts of many families, with siblings jealousy over 'the golden child', parents trying to be better then their own parent/s, and a fathers children trying to defend/ lie to themselves about his bad parenting behind his 'good' work that he put more effort into as they grew up. The film has a phew jokes to lighten the mood throughout the film and as any Sandler film would, and as said already, is quite realistic especially through the 'hospital scenes'. I would definitely recommend anyone to watch this film as it was well written, well directed and well performed.

This film tells the story of an artist father and his three estranged children, who are reunited under imperfect circumstances.

"The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)" it's unexpectedly good film. The characters stand out and make you care about them. The father is pervasively an unsympathetic man, and it is easy to see why he does not get along with his children. The three children are all interesting, and have baggage of their own. It is a captivating drama, and it is even more refreshing to see both Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller together in a good drama.

Ah yes, family dysfunctional. Everyone has it, and frankly its an over mined sub genre in film. With entries often pushing melodrama and character arcs to neat, organised catharsis, it has become as predictable as bad romantic comedies. Which is why i'm so happy to report that 'The Meyerowitz Stories' is one of the best dramedies I've seen all year! 

Told through various character perspectives in no real cinematic structure, there's a naturalism to the style. A humbleness that revels in subtleties rather than climatic overtures. And by god is it refreshing. There isn't a drop of pretension to be found in the film, no barriers between you and the characters, who are all lovingly played by an assured, veteran cast. 

Adam Sandler is a standout in what is already an outstanding ensemble. This is a performance quite different from what you might expect. It isn't a retread of Punch Drunk Love, or a dramatic overhaul of his past characters either. He instead lends a striking amount of humanity to Danny, which can be said of the entire cast. But Ben Stiller in particular deserves a shout out. I've never quite seen him pull off drama this straight faced and earnest before, and like most of the film, the sporadic dramatic beats are interspersed throughout his performance. 

Yeah i cant quite say enough nice things about 'The Meyerowitz Stories'. This was a joy to watch.So i'll just say this, if you love Wes Anderson films, in particular 'The Royal Tenenbaums' this is an easy recommend. And while it lacks the formalism and ridiculously cinematic glory of Anderson's style, there is far more humanity is Noah Baumbach straight faced approach. Meyerowitz Stories may not provide anything radically new, but it provides a great entry in the tired list of dysfunctional comedies, along with some of the year's best performances.