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.
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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.
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KatooHvdW20 October 2017When a movie still haunts me, days after watching it, I know it must have been bloody good and this was the case with The Meyerowitz stories. Dustin Hofman is one of my all time favorite actors but I wasn't prepared for him to play such an obnoxious, selfish character. For a great part of the movie, he is lying in a hospital bed having some life threatening condition. He comes out of it and STILL is the same obnoxious selfish man he was before...LOL. Although he doesn't change, his children do.
The story is told through these children, all grown up and with their own emotional baggage. The Adam Sandler part is touching, albeit a bit long in comparison to the other. In fact, the part that's about the sister is just a disgrace and doesn't learn us anything about her - it's merely a reason for the brothers to bond.
Now Ben Stiller is really good in this film, he plays the successful brother. The patience he has for his father is amazing and their lunch date is just so relatable and bittersweet. It made my toes crawl because I could just feel his inner struggle between staying polite and patient and just losing it completely. His character changes the most in this film and I really liked how constrained and calm he acted. It seemed he, as the youngest, becomes actually the leader of the siblings, the one they look up to. And no longer because he's obviously their father's favorite, but because during this ordeal he really proves himself as the smarter, more responsible one. Like fi. when he learns his brother and sister to take notes by the hospital bed.
I liked the relation between Adam Sandler and his on-screen daughter at first. But when she's off to college, she turns from this down-to-earth girl into a exhibitionist movie maker, making egocentrically porn and selling it as art. Maybe she really WAS the one and only true successor of her grandfather, and she may just turn unto the same unlikeable person he is. Just thinking about that as I write, I might have missed that point when I watched the film...
Greatest disappointment was the role of Emma Thompson as Meyerowitz's 4th (?) wife. Her character was also very unlikeable - even in the scenes with 'son' Ben Stiller. I couldn't imagine her being a wife or a mother. She was just wacky and weird and her body language reminded me a lot of the character she played in the Harry Potter movies.
In all, the female roles are just bad and not as nearly as important as the male roles, but I guess this is due to the fact that Harold Meyerowitz's character is so dominant, all females are automatically put in the background. The sons are divorced or in the middle of it, and their ex-wives are only mentioned briefly and surely never seen.
Nevertheless, I couldn't stop watching. The dialogues are so important in this film, they are quick and witty (like the old movies with Cary Grant). Scenes are long and filmed from the same camera point, so this is very different from other movies where everything must go fast and flashy. For some this might be boring, but I liked the slow speed and the time that is spent on the scenes.
Highly recommended. -
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 -
nickchevis25 March 2020A treat of a movie! Packs an emotional punch, laugh out loud funny at times but sad at every turn, a movie that strikes a realistic tone in the presentation of family conflicts. Reminded me a lot of Little Miss Sunshine. The ensemble cast was fantastic - Adam Sandler a revelation. Presented as a series of connected short stories focusing on different members of the family I was left very involved and wanting more. It's not often I finish a movie wishing they'd given us another half hour.
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cdcrb13 October 2017I heard that adam sandler "doesn't suck". and it's true. he is actually pretty good. as is ben stiller. two actors I am not that crazy about. with the addition of Elizabeth marvel (very good) the three are half siblings contending with dustin Hoffman, an inadequate father, to say the least. he's been married four times. his current wife is emma thompson, sadly miscast, in a non existent role. so it's very ny. a bunch of vignettes, really, telling everyone's back story. no episode lasts that long, so just when you are getting bored or tired, a new tale starts. no new territory covered, but it's an enjoyable time.
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CpLeChuck3 August 2021This picture is full of stars and the conversations definetely captures your attention feom the beginning.
The way the story was told was quite efficient as they beautifully skip many scenes that we all immagine how could that have played out.
As for my comment's title, the movie feels very much like I was watching a Woody Allen movie but from a director that wants to annoy you less with endless conversations (but there are also them) but more with cringing.
Since the story is not very creative, rather a mere look on dysfunctional families, I couldn't rate higher than 6/10.. -
saracnhamill13 July 2019I am surprised by other reviews of this film, but I think understanding this work depends wholly on whether you have ever lived with or known intimately a narcissist. It may not be pretty to watch, but it's not pretty to live either. And this movie nails it. It may be a small percentage of the population that can truly understand the subtleties of this movie and appreciate them. The skill it took to capture the complexity of these characters and to make it believable is remarkable. Baumbach paints in detail the devastated landscape of a narcissist's world. Hoffman's character displays perfectly how a narcissist's personality cannot and will not make room for anyone else's experience or emotions, especially his children's. Every conversation eventually returns to him: his needs, his opinions, his preferences, his ego, his career, his art, his place in the world. People have remarked that Hoffman is tedious and exhausting in this film. Yes. Because that is exactly the point. And Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel are brilliant as the relational afterthoughts of his all-consuming ego. I would recommend this film to anyone. Not because you'll feel great after watching it but because it dares to tackle a deeply complex human subject and succeeds. And isn't that the point of art anyway?
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Obi_Bamm_Karaoke5 October 2017New York is the city of a million stories. "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)" has a handful of them. (Cheesy opening? Yeah, but I'm owning it.)
Writer/director Noah Baumbach's slice-of-life tale of a blended family whose patriarch is an aging retired college professor and artist named Harold (Dustin Hoffman) is one of those that has the feeling of what was intended to be a stage production turned into a feature film. With a lot of rapid-fire dialogue and not much movement within each of its scenes, it is a film that requires a commitment from its audience to stay with it and focus. It boasts an all-star cast including Adam Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel, and Ben Stiller as Harold's children, Emma Thompson as his current wife, Candice Bergen as one of his ex-wives (and Stiller's character's mother), Judd Hirsch as one of Harold's good friends and fellow artists, and appearances by Adam Driver, Sigourney Weaver, and more. Given all of this, I am still not willing to say that this is a great film by any stretch of my imagination.
Told through the lenses of each of Harold's children, and even a segment with his granddaughter (and Sandler's character's daughter, played by newcomer Grace Van Patten), there is sophistication to the script (also done by Baumbach) that matches the upper-crust of New York that it represents which fits well. There are also some great performances here, especially when it comes to Stiller, Marvel, and Sandler. Yes, I said "Sandler". With the number of misses that he has tended to have in recent years, this performance as the oldest of the kids who still seems to be trying to find his way while taking care of the family he has left is one of his strongest dramatic turns that I have seen in his career. His chemistry with the other two is simply spot-on, and his work with Hoffman here (who is a pipe and a hat away from being the real-life interpretation of the sea captain on "The Simpsons") is nothing short of brilliant. Marvel as the disturbed daughter made me completely not see her character from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and even moreso took me by surprise that she is who she is. Even the ancillary characters do a good job enhancing what is going on in the main story, so none of this are where my sticking points come in.
For me, this just never really seemed to have that "wow" moment that takes a story like this to that next level. Granted, this was still better than Baumbach's previous disaster of a narrative in "Mistress America," but he is still chasing films like his lauded "Kicking and Screaming" and "The Squid and the Whale". As good as the performances are here, they just don't elevate a script when the mechanism to elevate it simply isn't there.
Again, this is not the worst film of this year (any year where a Terrence Malick film exists will not have to worry about THAT), and at this point it is not even in my bottom half of 2017, but if you are looking for an entertaining film about family, aging, and questions we eventually don't want to face, I would suggest last year's "The Hollars," which is a much better and more entertaining version of that story. -
leonthesleepy13 October 2017Ah 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. -
Noah Baumbach is often unfairly accused of pretension & navel-gazing in his films. This is the first that I've really felt those critiques are warranted. Mostly a sob story of whiny yuppies & self-centered artists, the individually strong drama & comedy don't meld as well as they do in his better films (Frances Ha, Mistress America). Luckily all the performances, especially Sandler giving maybe his best turn ever, are so great that you could almost ignore the film's shortcomings.
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kjproulx13 October 2017I have been a fan of director Noah Baumbach ever since his work on films like Greenberg and Frances Ha. Continuing his talented ways, I found myself really enjoying his work when I came across the film While We're Young back in 2014, but I must admit that his newest mark on the industry may just be my favourite film that I've seen of his. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) isn't wide enough of a release to score any big awards this year, but if that wasn't such a factor, I feel as though this movie deserves a few nods. Now streaming on Netflix, here is why I'll be giving this film a glowing recommendation.
There's just something special about a movie that mirrors reality, in that it takes itself very seriously, while still giving many laughs to its audience in order to provide levity. Following a family that reunites due to an illness of a relative, this really is a tale about sibling rivalry and the fact that it really shouldn't be a thing. I found myself entranced throughout this entire film, feeling as though I was watching someone provide insight into real events, and for all I know Noah Baumbach could've written this about his own experiences, but I just have to give him props for his terrific screenplay here.
It's not very often that a fantastic film stars Adam Sandler, but I'll admit it when I see it. He knew how to choose a good project here and he clearly cares about the material at hand, because he is 100% devoted to this character. He and Ben Stiller both deliver wonderful performance as step brothers and throughout certain portions of this movie, I felt as though they were growing a bond in real life. Movies like this don't come around very often, and I feel are unappreciated when they finally do. A story about family is very hard to accomplish, especially when you're trying to make it feel as real as possible, but I feel The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) nails it.
Not to compare the two in any way, but I love Aaron Sorkin's screen writing and when it comes to his dialogue, I honestly don't think it can be topped in today's day in age, but Noah Baumbach definitely gives him a run for his money here. Never once did I find myself bored, and when a movie is just a series of sequences with people talking, that can be hard to keep audiences engaged, but I feel this movie accomplishes that nearly impossible feat. From the way a character reacts, to a memory that's being explained from their past, to a revelation they have, opening up to a crowd standing in front of them, this screenplay really goes for it.
In the end, with a screenplay as terrific as this one, having a cast as talented as it does, with addition of applause-worthy direction, and a satisfying conclusion, I really can't complain about this movie all that much. Aside from a few awkward moments in editing that will definitely take certain viewers out, I found them to be oddly fascinating, so I have nothing but praise for The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) from my end. This movie is now on Netflix for the world to see and I can't recommend it enough. -
austin073115 October 2017This new Netflix entry that debut at Cannes is simply charming and outstanding. The Meyrowitz Stories utilises Adam Sandler in what is likely his best defined work along with the magnificent cast of Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel. What The Meyrowitz stories does so well is to portray such a realistic yet witty dysfunctional family with a deeper discussion on sibling rivalry and the need to be wanted/needed. All wrapped up in a cozy package that is the Meyrowitz Stories.
Watching the Meyrowitz Stories certain feel this way, it is a slow unraveling of these different story lines that tie in into a beautiful bundle. While certain cut-offs of scenes may feel disruptive to some I found it well chosen and deliberate.
The performances given in this film were so relatable, familiar and hence warm and enjoyable. This viewing experience really feels like peering into someone's life and the emotions were so realistic and relatable. Once again thanks to the amazing performances, particularly the relationship/chemistry between Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller. Something that we certainly don't often get from Sandler, in fact he often has so little chemistry he is unable to create chemistry between himself and himself in his infamous work 'Jack and Jill'. So, kudos to this film, Sandler and Stiller.
I very much enjoyed the unravelling of the dysfunctional relationship caused mainly by the central patriarch of the film portrayed by Dustin Hoffman. But, then even more enjoyable is seeing the progressing of the film and the slow amending of the relationship between the characters.
I will say that one particular scene did throw me off as too edgy and unnecessary brining be out of the film and stopping the momentum that it has built up. A specific scene regarding the character of Eliza Meyrowitz(Grace Van Patten) showing Danny Meyrowitz(Adam Sandler) her film school project. On the one hand I understand that the Meyrowitz Stories is shooting on the film community but that particular scene to me just felt completely out of place and unfortunately distasteful.
Nonetheless, the film is a heartwarming and enjoyable good time. -
tdintersmith-1222221 November 2017I heard a great New Yorker Radio Hour podcast about the film, so I dove in with high hopes. But it was a slog. I'm a big fan of Dustin Hoffman, but he must have been directed to wear out the audience, which he does quite effectively. I kept looking for some spark -- humor, emotion, love, or just about anything other than the sensation of standing next to a jackhammer for almost two hours. But that's what this film- watching experience was.
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Coldmachine2 February 2018Boring, not sense no story just c*ap not interesting stupid stupid story painfully to watch, I have feelings that this good actor wanna make movie..like they desperate for earning money and promote yourself...absolute wasted potential of them!
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faizkhwaja22 July 2022There were several things I really liked about the movie: the chemistry between Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman's performance, and the big surprise was how good Elizabeth Marvel was as Jean.
However, there were more things that held the film back as a movie including random, overdramatized dialogue which at times was meaningful, but at other times was painful to sit through. I enjoyed the focus on the characters but the plot didn't complement this exploration enough. -
valadas20 December 2022Not very deep story but pleasant to follow. Old Harold (splendidly played by Dustin Hoffman) , an artistic worker gets a celebration of his work in New York where his estranged family comes to take part in the event. The story develops itself around the relationship of his sons and relatives which is not always very sympathetic as it is shown in some dialogues and conversations. But all actors and actresses (Sigourney Weaver as herself, for instance) do an excellent job and keep our attention all the time. It is a pleasant movie although not a very good one for the story is somewhat uninteresting and its subject doesn't allow more interest.
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wisewebwoman13 November 2017I know a man exactly like the father, played by Dustin Hoffman. Completely narcissistic. Never have I seen narcissism captured so well on film.
The effects on his three adult children, played by a serious Adam Sandler (whom I normally find like chalk on a blackboard irritating), a tightly reined in Ben Stiller and a totally repressed brilliant performance by the forgotten sister, are riveting.
The only flawed performance was that of Emma Thompson who was uneven and jittery and even though classified as an alcoholic displayed none of the attributes.
Thoroughly enjoyable. And believable.
7/10 -
namashi_125 October 2017Noah Baumbach is in peak form in his latest 'The Meyerowitz Stories', a family-comedy-drama, that tells the tale of an estranged family, with gut-wrenching realism. And the cast, is simply Fantastic!
'The Meyerowitz Stories' Synopsis: An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.
Very few storytellers depict human relations like Baumbach much. 'The Meyerowitz Stories' delves into the lives of a family torn apart, starting from an overbearing, flawed father to his children, that being 3 kids from two different wives. Their journey is told with a humorous touch, but this story, at its core, is heartbreaking. Watching the siblings living with unsettled issues to a father who can't ever look beyond himself, is told with such realism, its hard not to get your heart melted. I was engrossed as well as heartbroken by seeing this big family unable to be one, due to circumstances. But knowing its Baumbach who's telling the story here, you know there is enough to laugh & be cheerful about.
Baumbach's Screenplay is very good. The Writing remains strong all through, never losing grip on the Meyerowitz, even when they do upon each other. Baumbach's Direction is outstanding. The way he has handled the film, deserves an ovation. Robbie Ryan's Cinematography captures every moment well. Jennifer Lame's Editing is razor-crisp. Art & Costume Design are perfectly done. Randy Newman's Score is winning, too.
And now to the performances! Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman & Elizabeth Marvel are up for vie top honors. Hoffman, an acting legend, is at his overbearing best as Meyerowits Sr., enacting the hard to like old-man with the perfect blend of spice & humanity. Stiller stuns as Matthew, who has to deal with his many family problems. This is Stiller's best performance in years. And Sandler is a big surprise as the Danny, the son who always got lesser attention from his father. Sandler portrays genuine heartache & proves us, that he's truly an actor of high caliber. Marvel, as Sandler's sister Jean, is extraordinary. Her performance is a mastery in deadpan. The impeccable Emma Thompson shines as Hoffman's newest wife, Maureen. Grace Van Patten as Eliza, Danny's daughter, also leaves a lovely mark. The Great Judd Hirsch too shows up in a terrific cameo, as Hoffman's contemporary artist. Adam Driver has just one-scene here, but he nails it as usual.
On the whole, 'The Meyerowitz Stories' is one family tale you ought to watch. Baumbach has come up with a big winner, yet again! -
Movie-ManDan4 November 2017I was really looking forward to seeing this film. I've been a fan of Noah Baumbach since "The Squid and The Whale" Dustin Hoffman is perhaps my favourite actor, I grew up with Ben Stiller, and it looked as though this could be Adam Sandler's comeback. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this underwhelmed me. It certainly wasn't bad. This is one of those movies where I will keep changing my mind about how good and how bad it is. Its level will keep moving in a small range.
Knowing Noah Baumbach, there were a few things expected in The Meyerowitz Stories. Dustin Hoffman plays the patriarch of the Meyerowitz family. He's a retired art professor who has been married a few times and keeps nailing his own aspirations into his children. He thinks he's better than he really is. His son Danny (Adam Sandler) is unemployed. How he got this way is pretty forgettable. Daughter Jean (Elizabeth Marvel) is a hippie whose backstory is also forgettable. But in her defence, she is purposefully the least developed. The strongest character of the three children in Matthew (Ben Stiller). Matthew is a successful architect who is the most resentful. The movie is pretty slow until Matthew is looked upon. Before that the movie tries to do a firm job in establishing the first two children. Baumbach does not do a good job in drawing them out because I've already forgotten.
The main plot of the story deals with Mr. Meyerowitz being on the verge of death following a strong tolerance for neurological accidents. Their kids look back on their lives and what their father means to them. Remember when I said Danny and Jean's backstories aren't well developed? Well nothing changes. We do get to know their personalities and grow to like them, but if you miss the beginning then tough luck!
Perhaps the biggest flaw that this has is it seems to take "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Descendants" and mesh them together. Three grown children look at how their "dying" father has influenced them with one still being a huge success? Royal Tenenbaums. Baumbach even tries to do some Wes Anderson filming. A loved one on their deathbed that people have a hard time saying positive things about? The Descendants. I don't mind seeing influences. I'm okay with movies that borrow. But as long as they are done well! No new ground is broken and nothing that it takes gets elevated. The two films that are influenced has so much more spark and originality. If new ground was broken and things were elevated, even if there was spark and pizazz, I would think higher of it.
But I think I may change my mind about it down the road. Constantly.
2.5/4 -
miguelneto-749368 November 2017The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is the film that supposedly will give the Oscar for best actor to Adam Sandler, the film was applauded at the Cannes festival and was praised for the criticism, I expected more from the film and also expected more from the performance of the film. Adam Sandler, Adam Sandler does his best role from Click possibly, but I do not know if it is a performance level Oscar, I found it very efficient and with good dialogues, but I do not think it will exceed the performances of the possibly nominated Daniel Day-Lewis and The Old Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) has a great cast, in addition to Adam Sandler, there are Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Adam Driver, Emma Thopson all great actors , the film also uses a lot of humor, but honestly I did not laugh at any time, at most a sketch, the direction of Noah Baumbach and he does a good job of directing, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a film which will divide the audience, but it is undoubtedly the best film of the partnership Adam Sandler and Netflix, and your not mistaken will still have 1 film of this partnership, I hope it is better than The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) that is not bad. Note 6.5
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lesleyharris3011 December 2017The Meyerowitz Stories is a great movie with a very well developed plot and a terrific cast. It's a beautiful, grounded piece of film that really takes its time with every piece of detail, the characters and each person's individual relationship is handled in a delicate manner that makes it very relatable and pure. It is also a lovely mix of drama and comedy, containing hard hitting moments that struck a chord with me, as well as ones that left me in stitches. The movie captures family relationships and fighting for acceptance from our family in a very blunt manner.
I was not the biggest fan of the stories switching around, I get that it was doing so to show these different character's separate relationships and how they intertwine, but it became a bit of a mess. I would have preferred a story told as it is, with a fully fledged beginning, a middle and an end.
The cast is all around brilliant. Adam Sandler delivers one of his greatest performances to date, playing a very layered, complicated role, Ben Stiller is also top notch in his role, Dustin Hoffman steals every scene as always as a mentally abusive father, it was certainly a change of pace for him as an actor, and Emma Thompson is so terrifically immersed in to this character I did not even know it was her till I saw her name in the credits.
A heartwarming, funny, hard hitting delight. A dramatic film that also has fun, I would recommend The Meyerowitz Stories to anyone looking for a good drama.
Two grown men ponder why they are still fighting for their father's acceptance as they attend a family event in celebration of his work.
Best Performance: Dustin Hoffman -
The Meyerowitz Stories starts with a critique of Manhattan's constantly changing architectural landscape that has very much to do with why Adam Sandler's character is unable to find a parking spot. Unable to critique his own life, which has broken apart and aggravated since his divorce, he is now trying to mend his relations with his father (or please him rather), a three-time divorcée, an unpopular sculptor who is excited he met Sigourney Weaver, and sort of a pivot to his total of three children. Noah Baumbach's writing, that covers a whole wide spectrum of comedy, will crack you up. It's surprising because these are not second-hand jokes spewed by Sandler, as you'd think, but funny social mix-ups also involving Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Marvel, and Emma Thompson that reflect life as you know it. I do not know if I can call these characters dysfunctional (go watch the Bluth family) because there's a certain degree of truth and warmth in their airs; I almost am a Meyerowitz myself. Of course, also blame the goofy editing, the writing slips into boredom theater at some point in the second act with occasional slug-fests and slapstick ruining the flow, but Baumbach manages to wrap it up with a satisfying climax. The Meyerowitz Stories is essentially a film where the characters, although talking to each other, are talking about different things. So you are watching two films at once.
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eyemalmostthere17 December 2018A self-indulgent story clearly focused on garnering awards with a deep disregard for the general viewer. A few entertaining moments, but overall a movie drowning in its own drawn out soap-opera plot lines and pointless dialogue.
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Gordon-111 November 2017This 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.