Ben Stiller’s new film explores the massive weight of his family legacy. It refreshingly focuses on the lives of his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara in a great way. Fleischer focuses on the complex, successful careers of the comedy duo from the 1960s and 70s. It underscores the tremendous toll show business took on their deep, rich family dynamics.
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara delighted audiences with the unmatched chemistry of their loving but mismatched marital duo. Their performance struck a deeply poetic chord across the nation, winning them fame that would sustain them for the rest of their days. Not long after, in the late 1990s, Jerry Stiller and his onscreen son Ben Stiller skyrocketed to fame. He brought an unforgettable performance as Frank Costanza, George Costanza’s father, on the groundbreaking television show Seinfeld. This portrayal reinvigorated his career and helped him connect with a younger generation of fans.
Returning home in his father’s body, the story unfolds as the family packs up their New York apartment. This time comes after the passing of Jerry Stiller in 2020. This step triggers Ben Stiller’s nostalgia for his own youth. His reflections on how his parents’ professions influenced their family life are particularly telling. Yet he’s candid enough to acknowledge that Jerry and Anne sometimes neglected their parental duties in favor of their showbiz engagements. As a result, these jokesters often piled on during his most notable life achievements. Ben is acutely aware of this lack, to say the least. He himself spends long periods away from his own children due to the nature of his filming commitments.
The personal documentary explores more complex familial dynamics. Most importantly, it makes very explicit the challenges of Anne Meara’s family, including the tragedy of her mother’s suicide. Like the character he created, Jerry Stiller had a rough and unsupportive dad. This upbringing influenced his own approach to fatherhood.
During the production of the now iconic movie, Ben Stiller and his sister Amy had to watch the arguments and animosity between their long-time married parents. Interspersed throughout, he tells short, funny but poignant personal stories about their life that underscore profound wisdom. In one classic early childhood sketch based off family therapy visits, a young Ben hilariously insists that he’s more well-known than his dad. Then, in a playful flashback, Amy recalls an embarrassing stunt they pulled during their childhood. She tells the story of how Ben used to wet the bed, which deeply humiliates Ben.
Though it wasn’t always easy, Ben Stiller did a great job of capturing the warmth and tenderness his parents provided. In doing so, he carries on their legacy, shining a light on the complexity of their relationship, and ultimately how it enriched his own path. The film is dedicated to Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. It’s a meditation on what we give up to achieve success in the highly competitive and often ruthless world of show business.