Film Review: STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST: Ben Stiller’s Heartwarming Documentary Sheds Light on the Lives of a Celebrity Family [NYFF 2025]
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost Review
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (2025) Film Review from the 63rd Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Ben Stiller and starring Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Christopher Walken and Ella Olivia Stiller.
Ben Stiller has directed a funny and moving documentary about the lives of his famous parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Mears, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost. This film is so entertaining and informative as it sheds light on a celebrity family who had some ups and downs throughout the years, but managed to stay afloat mostly due to the power of the undeniable connection Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller had together.
Ben Stiller was once known as Benji as a child and the movie has fun with the footage of “Benji” as a kid where he seems adrift, yet still on board with the idea of entertainment as a means to making a living despite the hardships that could come from it. Ben, now older and wiser, has a fondness for his parents’ success that manifests itself throughout the touching and heartwarming footage that is sprinkled into this new documentary.
As Ben Stiller talks throughout the documentary, we learn a lot about the difficulties and successes that Anne Meara and Jerry had together. Meara was a successful actress who performed in shows like The House of Blue Leaves, yet she was arguably more popular for the humorous work she did with her husband. Spending time on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and beyond, their comedy acts were priceless such as when they created characters who met to date each other and called each other by their silly names which I’ll leave you to discover by seeing this terrifically put together documentary.
There are many moving parts of this enjoyable documentary that include clips of Ben Stiller’s longtime partner, Christine Taylor, who the actor was separated from for years, but got back together with. Stiller’s daughter, Ella Olivia Stiller, talks about what it’s like to have celebrity parents and speaks of the fact that her mom didn’t come from a celebrity family like her dad did. Amy, Ben’s sister, is also in this film as she appears a few times and her presence sometimes suggests that she was probably the least successful of the bunch, but at least she gave it a “go” and had some great times trying to make it big. Ella was cut out of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and that makes for a funny clip that is shown here. Ella has charm to spare as evidenced by the segments featuring her in this film.
This movie examines Ben Stiller’s career choices and his own ups and downs as clippings from newspapers are kept, one that shows how his movie The Cable Guy bombed. There was also a show titled after the actor that Ben made when he was young and clips appear here that are quite humorous and, perhaps, hinted at the success that was to come for Ben Stiller when he eventually made it big in Hollywood movies.
This film ultimately is about Ben’s parents, though, and their willingness to stay active as a comedy team in the entertainment world despite their personal needs which occasionally, but rarely, took them apart from one another. Meara appeared in a cameo in Night at the Museum (which featured Ben) and their support for each other as a family was undeniable and the dynamics present proved the strong bond the family possessed together as a unit.
Jerry and Anne seemed like opposites. She was Irish and he was Jewish. They fell in love and found a mutual respect for one another that seemed to never really fade even through the difficulties the family faced as a whole. While I enjoyed watching the scenes of Anne and Jerry all the way through this documentary, it was even more fascinating to see how Ben managed to salvage his relationship with Christine after a rocky patch and one can’t help but wonder if his parents were the definitive driving force to keep Ben with his own family and with Christine. This documentary certainly suggests they were.
Jerry was a legend. His appearances on television in shows like “Seinfeld” highlighted the remarkable talent he possessed as well as his impeccable comic timing. Meara may have had more range as an actress, but their passion to perform is so evident in the clips that are on hand in this film and in the clips of them speaking to each other off-set. Christopher Walken also makes a cameo here and it’s great to see him on-board this tribute to a great pair of performers.
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost is such a remarkable journey of a showbiz family weathering the storm in order to become a shining example of how sticking together through thick and thin can pay off in terms of leaving a legacy behind to both their audiences and their family. You’ll be deeply moved by the concluding moments and real-life footage that helped cement Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara as a one-of-a-kind comedy duo that can never be replicated. Ben poured his heart into this film and it’s a truly moving piece of work that should be seen.
Rating: 8/10
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