This desperately dull essay on middle aged angst sees Ben Stiller at his most serious, sentimental and unfunny.

I’ve always been unpersuaded by Ben Stiller’s comic turns and he’s even less bearable when he plays straight, such as here.

As Brad, he’s a wealthy middle class middles aged consultant with beautiful wife and home. But he’s riven with insecurity by the mega success of his old university friends. 

Interminable soul searching begins when he flies off with his musical prodigy son for an interview at Harvard university.

The only cheer comes from Welshman Michael Sheen playing an old buddy. Bouffant and bearded he’s a refreshing oasis of unreflective vanity and superficial charm.

It was written and directed by Mike White whose other writing credits include The Emoji Movie, and this is no more insightful.

If I wanted to pay to experience the full horror of a midlife crisis, I’d take my mates to the pub.