The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) **** (2017, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten) – Movie Review

A new movie from writer-director Noah Baumbach is usually a pleasure greatly to be anticipated, and this one follows very nicely in the tradition of his Kicking and Screaming (1995), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Margot at the Wedding, Greenberg, Frances Ha and While We’re Young (2014).

The Meyerowitz Stories is warm, sad, amusing, bitter-sweet, nicely written, and well acted by the whole ensemble, with Dustin Hoffman and Ben Stiller excellent in the film’s standouts turns.

A white-haired, white-bearded ancient-looking Hoffman plays the family patriarch Harold, a retired, semi-successful sculptor, now married to Maureen (Emma Thompson). He has spikey relationships with his three middle-aged children, Danny (Adam Sandler), Matthew (Ben Stiller) and Jean (Elizabeth Marvel). Danny is trying to make up for lost time with Harold, while businessman Matthew just wants to plot with Maureen to sell the family’s town house and Harold’s art.

Harold’s face is bashed up from a fall some time back, which is going to turn out significant plotwise. Danny has a bad limp from hip trouble, also significant. Danny’s precocious daughter Eliza (Grace Van Patten) is leaving the nest to go to college to do film studies. She has made a porno art film.

Harold agrees to let Danny accompany him to the posh art exhibition of his old, successful friend L J Shapiro (Judd Hirsch). Harold gets fed up, but gets to meet Sigourney Weaver. Later, Matthew turns up and drives Harold out to see his long divorced mother Julia (Candice Bergen). Randy (Adam Driver) pops in briefly. The characters and strands of plot come and go, just like they do in real life. These are just stories, not a story.

There we are. The Meyerowitz Stories is an acting showcase, with its opportunities gratefully grabbed by the classy performers. Only Emma Thompson seems out of place, slightly struggling, for once, to find her key and pitch. Everyone else is in tune, on song. Alas, the song is mostly a sad song. It’s not a heart-warmer. It’s a slight downer, actually. There are several funny scenes, but overall it is not a funny film. It does feel truthful, thoughtful and intelligent though, and, for that, thank you Noah Baumbach.

I’ve just been reading on a poster that ‘Nothing is harder to track than the truth’ (it’s for Wind River). So Baumbach has done a good job taking the hard route of making a comedy that’s tracking the truth.

On 5 November 2017, Adam Sandler received the Hollywood Comedy Award for his performance as Danny.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Movie Review

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