Parents' Guide to Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost

Ben Stiller's cathartic journey may have been healing for him, but it's not necessarily enthralling for viewers. Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost opens with Ben and his sister talking about how they'll start the documentary about their parents, by walking through their New York City apartment and diving into the treasure trove of mementos left behind. With a seemingly endless supply of talk show clips, home videos, recordings, and photographs, there's tons of material to sort through, and viewers are given snippets of Jerry and Anne's act—and their life. Ben and Amy acknowledge how tough it was for their parents to have careers that were so tied to each other, with little room for individual achievement or time alone. (Viewers may be surprised that the couple's comedy act tended to have Anne interrupting or putting Jerry down, including a sketch called "I Hate You.")

The takeaways are clear: Sharing a business with your spouse is complicated, kids of famous parents can grow up feeling in their shadow, and if you don't deal with your trauma, it will deal with you. And we understand that the difficulties Anne and Jerry went through as kids helped shape the people they'd become. Ben's own marital issues with Christine Taylor are also put into context and understood by him—and viewers. But there's no big shock involved in pulling back the curtain to reveal the Stillers' highs and lows. Really, this famous family seems not too unlike many others, with parents who sometimes get along and sometimes don't, who overcame childhood challenges to find success, and who have personal failings but always love each other and their children. So while it's nice to know that the process of working on Nothing Is Lost allowed Ben and Christine to resolve their own issues and continue their marriage, for audiences, it may well feel like nothing is gained.