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Ben Stiller’s ‘Stiller & Meara’ Opens Friday, Pairing Public Legacy With Private Reckoning

Stiller uses family archives to link his parents’ public lives to his own private reckoning.

Overview

  • The documentary opens in select theaters on Oct. 17, with streaming on Apple TV+ starting Oct. 24.
  • Stiller told Reuters he only considered how his family might feel about the film after it was completed.
  • The film traces Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara’s rise from their 1963 Ed Sullivan debut through decades of television work, reflecting on their cultural influence.
  • Stiller discusses parenting and growing up with famous parents, recalling the disorienting attention from fans and acknowledging his own missteps.
  • Chris Rock praised Stiller in a New York Times interview, highlighting the actor’s reconciliation with Christine Taylor as a theme Stiller reflects on in the film.