Brad's Status

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The night before we left,

I couldn't sleep.

I couldn't stop thinking

about Chris Kanew,

and how he quit,

and all the things he said.

Brad, I loved working

with you so much,

and I learned a lot from you,

but this job has made me...

kind of depressed.

I thought about

how I'd taught this kid everything I knew,

and how he was my only employee,

and... how pathetic it all was.

Then my mind drifted to the dinner party.

And the Architectural Digest.

She has a teenage daughter.

They call that...

- Oh, is that it? Okay.

- Yeah.

We were talking about cheese.

You got to try this.

This is, like, an imitation Comt.

- Really?

- But instead of organic...

Isn't that

your friend from college?

Brad has this friend from college...

I knew Nick had become

rich and successful, but...

I felt gut-punched.

I felt like the world was

rubbing my nose in something.

So many friends from college

have become successful.

Nick Pascale was

a big movie director in Hollywood,

living this crazy, decadent life.

Jason Hatfield had his own hedge fund.

Obscenely rich.

Owns three houses.

Big philanthropist.

Billy Wearslter sold

his tech company at 40.

He's already retired,

living a life of leisure in Maui.

Craig Fisher worked for the White House.

He's written all these best-sellers.

Always on TV.

It's stupid to compare lives.

But when I do,

I feel somehow I failed.

And over time, these feelings get worse.

Brad.

Sh*t.

Oh, my.

Sorry.

You okay?

What the hell?

You just... you just hit me in the face.

Oh, sorry.

It's okay.

Can't sleep.

Mm.

How much do you think

your parents' house is worth?

My parents' house?

I don't know.

Like, uh, two million?

Two and a half?

I don't know.

You never thought about it?

What does it matter?

Well, aren't you getting

the house when they die?

When they die?

I think they're considering

leaving it all to the grandkids.

What do you mean?

Like, splitting everything

between the grandkids.

What? Steve has three kids.

He's already rich. We only have one.

How's that fair?

It's not up to me.

They also talked about just giving it all

to charity, so, who knows?

Seriously?

That's absurd.

Seriously, that's mean.

You work for a nonprofit,

and you think that's absurd?

Right, I work for a nonprofit.

You work for the government.

We need the money.

Look, I'm gonna be so distraught

when my parents die,

I'm not gonna give a f*** about the money.

Really?

Not at all?

Think you will.

What about your dad?

You have money coming to you.

Oh, he's an academic. I mean...

two hundred thousand, maybe.

Well, that'll help pay for Troy's college.

Is that why you're worrying about money?

We'll be fine.

We'll figure it out.

We didn't work this hard

to end up dying in a flophouse, you know?

All right, you're freaking me out.

I just feel like

we're running out of time.

It's like there's no more potential.

This is it.

We've plateaued.

It's not like there's gonna be some...

windfall that, you know,

suddenly changes our situation.

I mean...

We're not poor, Brad.

I kn...

In some circles, yeah.

Oh, what circles? The one percent?

We have a great life.

Go to sleep.

Do you think you should

talk to your parents?

Then we'll get some clarity.

You and I are done.

I love you.

Please shut up.

Troy?

Troy, are you up?

Oh, yes. Hello.

What is your name?

I know your name.

You have ten minutes.

Uh, yeah, I'm ready.

I just got to put on my clothes.

Can you give me a second?

Yeah.

You have, like, the body of a man now.

Hey, Dad, can you not be weird?

'Cause I'm stressed.

Okay.

Can you close my door?

Yeah.

Can you close the door?

Yeah.

Yeah, it looks good.

Did you bring a jacket?

- Yeah.

- Okay. It's gonna get cold.

- Yeah.

- Oh,

I think you guys are gonna like this.

Yeah, I think

it'll be good, I guess.

On the ride to the airport,

I kept thinking

about what Chris Kanew said.

So, wait a minute,

you're going into banking?

Look, Brad, I honestly think

I can do so much more good

by making a lot of money

and then giving it away,

instead of spending all my time

asking other people

for their money to give away.

You know what I mean?

You have

all the hotel information, right?

Yeah, Mom. It's on my phone.

Would you forward it to your dad?

I don't think he has any sense

of the schedule. Do you, Brad?

I don't think he has any idea,

so, it's really on you, honey.

Okay.

There are moments you realize

your entire life's work is absurd

and you have nothing to show for it.

...- the deputies of Kim Jong-il.

- Yeah.

Or maybe it was Kim Jong-un.

Was it Kim Jong-un or Kim Jong-il?

- Was it the father?

- It was Il.

That's the father.

Some guys have empires.

What do I have?

I live in Sacramento,

a secondary market

surrounded by mediocrities

and beta males.

...this piece on NPR.

It was an interview. It was Terry Gross

with All Things Considered.

But the guy... you were telling

about the guy in the prison before,

- the vegetarian guy, right?

- Oh, yeah.

In this... It's a private prison

in Georgia.

And they have meat in every dish.

This guy just said,

"I'm gonna stop eating meat."

So, they got him tied down.

They're force-feeding him through a tube.

And he just keeps saying,

"Vegetables. Vegetarian. Fruit."

This is not where I thought I'd be.

It's not the life I imagined.

Oh, honey,

this is gonna be so cool.

This is great.

Mom, I think I'm just gonna take

Old River Road, connect to the freeway.

For your safety and security...

This good?

Yeah.

Call me all the time.

I want to know everything.

This is so exciting.

- Yeah, thanks, Mom.

- I love you.

All right. Should be good.

I can't believe this.

This is crazy.

I know.

It just feels like a big moment.

I'm so jealous. I can't believe

I have to go to this stupid conference.

Okay, flight info's all on your phone,

and the hotels, it's all on there, okay?

Great, okay.

- All right, be happy. Be present.

- Love you.

All right.

I love you.

- Love you, honey.

- Okay.

Oh, take lots of pictures!

Love you!

Love you!

Attention, all departing passengers...

Economy entrance is that line.

But, uh, I have a, uh, Silver Flyer card.

It's Gold and Platinum only.

Next, please.

Enjoy your flight.

You know what I'm thinking?

Hmm?

Let's try for an upgrade.

What do you mean?

Going off to find your college.

And I don't know when you and I

are gonna take a trip like this again.

Let's fly business, okay?

Really?

Yeah.

Okay. Cool.

I, uh, I never flown business.

Let's make this f***ing special, okay?

Okay.

All right.

Oh! Good news.

There are two seats available in business.

Oh!

Can I see

your tickets, please?

Awesome.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah. I was hoping to put it on my miles.

I got a bunch of miles, I think.

Unfortunately, no, not with this flight,

you can't.

So...

cost to upgrade to business

would be $821 per ticket.

Mm.

So, the total would be $1,642.

Sixteen hundred dollars?

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