Back in 2014, Netflix signed Adam Sandler to a four-picture deal. This meant that Netflix would finance and exclusively release four new, original films created by Sandler. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I found this out I couldn’t contain my frustration.
I wondered why someone as washed up as Sandler was getting the opportunity to put out art via a streaming service that, at the time, was preparing to reach its peak in terms of quality.
Sandler hadn’t made anything worth watching since Funny People, and his performances are generally lackluster to say the least. His best film, widely regarded as the Paul Thomas Anderson-helmed Punch-Drunk Love, premiered in 2002.
Therefore, it wasn’t surprising at all when his first three releases The Ridiculous Six, The Do-Over and Sandy Wexler, were critically panned, citing all the same issues that had faced his previous theatrical films: Sandler would more often than not opt for the easy, middle-school-level humor than attempt to generate some emotional weight.
So when it was announced that for his fourth film he would be working with director Noah Baumbach, I was shocked.
Baumbach is known for creating films with characters who are down on their luck, unable to achieve the success they’ve been striving for.
He directed one of my favorite films, Frances Ha, which follows Greta Gerwig as a quirky, twenty-something gal who’s trying to do what she loves, yet life consistently gets in the way. I was curious to see how Baumbach’s creativity would work around the traits that Sandler can bring to the table.
Rounding out the cast for The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is Dustin Hoffman as the patriarch Harold, Ben Stiller as the youngest brother Matthew, Elizabeth Marvel as the (forgotten) middle child Jean, Emma Thompson as Maureen (Harold’s fourth wife) and Grace Van Patten as Eliza, daughter to Sandler’s Danny (the eldest brother).
The film explores the relationship between the three siblings and the long shadow cast by their (semi) successful father’s expectations.
As college students, I think that we can all relate to the premise of the film. Be it with our parents or our siblings, we struggle to feel like we haven’t disappointed someone, ourselves included.
At times the weight of our parents’ failures is transferred onto our shoulders. Sometimes this can manifest itself in anger that we have to deal with while growing up.
This can lead to the development of a form of resentment that we often don’t express until our college years.
The film emphasizes this through Harold’s failure to be there for his kids in the midst of his attempts to be discovered as a sculptor.
Even in the present, when they are all full-grown adults, Harold fails to communicate with his children effectively, always taking control of the conversation. This is particularly hard for Danny, played with a certain man-childness that fits Sandler’s acting traits perfectly.
He’s focused on becoming a great father to his daughter, and it’s reflected in their relationship. Danny may not be a very successful man, but he succeeded at something his father failed at.
Even Matthew, who, contrary to Danny, is successful in economic terms, isn’t sufficient for Harold due to the type work he engages in (he’s a business manager instead of an artist).
Matthew’s frustrations stem from this idea that he isn’t ever going to be good enough for his father no matter the level of economic success he reaches.
However, he isn’t without his own faults too. Matthew is failing his child and family in the same way that his father failed him.
The constant travel his job requires causes strains in his relationship with his only son, and he’s distanced himself so much from his siblings that they don’t know how to contact him.
On the other hand, Jean falls into the familiar trope of the middle child, being forgotten and taken for granted by the family. She is such an afterthought that when we first see her, the camera needs to pan out to show us that she is in fact present at the family home.
Elizabeth Marvel does a fantastic job showing the emotional and developmental-fucked-upness that growing up in such an environment can do.
She also gets her own little story towards the end that I won’t spoil, but it definitely feels like it has a profound effect on her development.
Baumbach and company do a fantastic job throughout the movie at showing us the dysfunctionality that this particular family suffers through.
This film doesn’t pull any punches and mixes in humor with moments of sincerity that allow every cast member to shine.
Although the final act does drag a bit in the final 15 minutes, it provides a resolution that is very real and at the very least satisfying.
Greta Gerwig’s influence on Baumbach is evident in this film. You still find the themes that make a Baumbach film, well, a Baumbach film, but it’s also infused with a sense of randomness and bewilderment that are commonplace in his collaborations with Gerwig.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a fantastic film that reminds us not only of Adam Sandler’s talent but also that while we may not always be able to forgive our parents, we can still love them.
You can stream The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) now on Netflix.
