Brad’s Status appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a largely solid visual presentation.
From start to finish, sharpness looked strong. Only the slightest hint of softness affected wide shots, and those examples occurred too infrequently to cause problems. Instead, the film looked concise and well-defined.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and edge enhancement was absent. I also failed to detect any source flaws.
In terms of colors, the movie featured a palette that emphasized a golden/orange tone, with a fair amount of teal as well.. Across the board, the hues looked positive, as they showed nice clarity and breadth and came out well.
Blacks were dark and deep, while shadows appeared fairly clear and smooth, though some interiors could be a bit thick. Overall, this turned into a mostly strong image.
I thought that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Status seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most dramas/comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.
Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better – like those on planes or beaches - but most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.
Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility.
Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion. Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed positive dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.
We find four short featurettes here: “A Look At Ben Stiller As Brad” (2:32), “A Culture of Comparing Ourselves” (2:32), “Mike White on Directing His Own Script” (2:31) and “The Story of Brad’s Status” (2:40). Across these, we hear from writer/director/actor Mike White, producer David Bernad, and actors Ben Stiller, Austin Abrams, Luke Wilson, Jenna Fischer, and Michael Sheen.
The clips look at cast, characters and performances, story and themes, and White’s work as director. These offer a handful of decent notes but they mostly exist to promote the film.
The disc opens with ads for I Do… Until I Don’t, Home Again, A Bad Moms Christmas, and Marshall. No trailer for Status appears here.
As a tale of middle-aged self-appraisal, Brad’s Status lacks much depth. It comes with an unlikable lead and a general absence of real meaning or character involvement. The Blu-ray provides very good picture with decent audio and minor supplements. I wanted to like Status but found it to become a disappointment.