This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
10/26/2017 12:01 AMNew to Netflix is the family drama, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), which stars a plethora of big name Hollywood actors as members of an estranged group of family members. The Meyerowitz family is headed by Harold Meyerowitz (Dustin Hoffman of Rain Man and The Cobbler), an aging sculpture artist who lives in New York. His oldest son Danny (Adam Sandler of Grown Ups and Sandy Wexler) is back living with him temporarily after his recent separation from his wife of more than 18 years. Harold’s only daughter Jean (Elizabeth Marvel of True Grit and Burn After Reading) is also in town visiting, as is his youngest child Matthew (Ben Stiller of Zoolander and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), who now resides full time in California as a hot-shot businessman.
The family dynamics of this off-beat tribe are strained after years of Harold being a mostly absentee father and after each of the three children has faced numerous setbacks in his or her own in life, for reasons both due to the relationship that each has with Harold and for reasons completely his or her own.
Now retired from his job teaching sculpture at a nearby university, Harold lives with his current wife Maureen (Emma Thompson of Love Actually and Nanny McPhee) who is equally peculiar as Harold. While she is traveling out of the country, Maureen encourages Harold and Danny to work on their relationship and, for a while, things seem to be going along quite well for the two of them. Danny is particularly lonely after sending his only child Eliza (Grace Van Patten of Stealing Cars and Tramps) off to college and Harold is feeling particularly low after witnessing some new acclaim that a former contemporary and friend of his, LJ Shapiro (Judd Hirsch of Independence Day and A Beautiful Mind), has been receiving for his work, while no one is any longer interested in Harold’s work.
There are a number of very sincere emotional moments that are highlighted in the film as the trio of adult siblings attempt to come together as one family unit after Harold is unexpectedly hospitalized. Some of the scenes involving Sandler and Stiller as siblings Danny and Matthew are the best in the film, including one in which they are literally rolling around on the ground fighting. There are also moments of entertaining comedy that keep the heavy subject matter of the film from feeling like too much of a burden for viewers to be able to enjoy it. Additionally, there are a number of familiar stars other than the impressive list of main actors who make appearances in the film including Adam Driver, Sigourney Weaver, and Candice Bergen, all of whom add to the film in their individual minor roles.
There are also some true oddities in the film written and directed by Noah Baumbach (While We’re Young and Margot at the Wedding) including strange, (thankfully) brief glimpses into Danny’s daughter’s short films she’s producing at film school. Most of the peculiarity in the film, however, fits right into the script and its portrayal of its quirky characters.
In Addition
Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm is back on HBO for its ninth season after a six-year hiatus from filming. Despite the six-year long gap, Larry is still the same old Larry with whom his acquaintances on the show are constantly annoyed and whom viewers love. All of his familiar cohorts are also back along with him, including Jeff (Jeff Garlin of Daddy Daycare and TV’s The Goldbergs) and Leon (JB Smoove of The Sitter and Almost Christmas), much to the delight of Curb’s fans.
New on Showtime is White Famous starring Jay Pharoah (of Saturday Night Live fame). Pharoah stars as a young comedian attempting to stay true to himself as his star rises in Hollywood. This new, original series is a much anticipated comedy.