ALANON ANYONE? –
Oct. 17, 2025 – “When [my mom] was drinking, my dad never really knew how to handle it,” Stiller, 59, explains in his new documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which details his parents’ love story. “I think he loved her so much and he was so committed to her. Also the act and what they did together was so important, that he had to figure out how to deal with that on his own.
Ben Stiller is detailing the resentment he held toward his father, Jerry Stiller, over how he handled his mom Anne Meara’s alcoholism.
“When [my mom] was drinking, my dad never really knew how to handle it,” Stiller, 59, explains in his new documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which details his parents’ love story. “I think he loved her so much and he was so committed to her. Also the act and what they did together was so important, that he had to figure out how to deal with that on his own. But I think I resented him for not acknowledging it to us.”
Ben notes that while he and his sister, Amy Stiller, knew their dad “loved us more than anything,” it was still difficult to witness him avoid their mom’s drinking issues while his kids struggled. Ben & Meara, which hit Apple TV+ on Friday, October 17, is mostly a celebration of Jerry and Anne’s 61-year marriage and comedic partnership. The film was inspired by Ben and Amy preparing to sell their parents’ homes following their deaths in 2015 and 2020, respectively. The documentary doesn’t shy away from the hard truths, either, delving deep into Jerry and Anne’s relationship ups and downs and how Ben’s childhood affected his own marriage to Christine Taylor, as well as being a dad to daughter Ella, 23, and son Quin, 20.
