Directed by: Bradley Cooper
Written by: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett and Mark Chappell
Run Time: 2 hours 4 mins
Bradley Cooper can certainly be considered an actor-turned-director with notable impact. His debut film, A Star Is Born (2018), achieved a level of success seldom seen with first-time directors. Beloved by critics and audiences alike, it made a major splash at the box office, sent ‘Shallow‘ to the top of the charts and earned eight Oscar nominations, confirming that Cooper was a filmmaker to be taken seriously. His sophomore feature, Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro (2023), drew a more polarised reception from audiences, but was still warmly received by critics and awards voters. Now, pivoting from his previous focus on music, Cooper’s third film, Is This Thing On?, explores the art of stand-up comedy.
Inspired by the life of British comedian John Bishop, the film sees Cooper take more of a backseat when it comes to acting, instead allowing co-writer Will Arnett to take the spotlight in the leading role. He plays Alex Novak, a father navigating a mid-life crisis after separating from his wife Tess (Laura Dern). Then after a night out with friends, a stoned Alex stumbles upon a comedy club where he signs up for the open mic night. From here he discovers a new passion, finding that stand-up comedy is a creative and cathartic way for him to turn his hardships into humour.
Alex also finds solace by confiding in his best friend Balls, played by Cooper in a supporting role. After receiving some criticisms that his performance in Maestro was perhaps a little too showy, Cooper’s limited presence as a performer here also parallels his role as director; he injects some life into the film when necessary, but is more relaxed, preferring to let the story play out naturally. Occasionally, this can be to its detriment, with multiple scenes ending with abrupt cuts to black, making the film feel slightly more episodic. However, the naturalistic cinematography makes Is This Thing On? feel more personal, especially the long takes and close ups on Arnett’s face during the stand up routines.
Arnett’s performance as Alex is stellar, potentially his best big-screen performance yet. His decades of experience in comedic roles going back to cult series like Arrested Development has certainly contributed to his authenticity in conveying the character’s standup persona. His wit carries through the rest of the film, both by way of his co-writer credit and the presentation of his character off-stage. It helps that Alex is a likeable protagonist; he’s introduced as someone who’s lost in life due to a myriad of changes, but still makes the effort to spend time with his kids and is refreshingly amicable with his ex-wife Tess. She’s also very well-written and portrayed excellently by Laura Dern who is on top form. Her and Arnett make for a surprisingly convincing duo, perfectly capturing a couple who have reached what seems to be a natural end to a long marriage, but still displaying the spark which was once there between them, and maybe still is.
A lot of their time as a duo is spent with the supporting cast, especially Balls and his wife Christine (Andra Day). Their screen time often sees the couple confiding in Alex and Tess about their own deteriorating marriage, with each subsequent conversation between them revealing their differing perspectives and disdain for each other. It makes for an intriguing secondary storyline, seeing a couple already separated witness their friends about to go through the same thing, but it’s a shame that their story is concluded rather rapidly.
Rounding off the friendship group is one more couple, Stephen and Geoffrey (Sean Hayes and real life husband Scott Icenogle), who sadly are given even less attention. Nevertheless it is refreshing how nonchalantly they are included in the story, with neither the film nor the characters fixating on their sexuality as if that’s their only notable trait as a couple. However, with such little development or exploration of their characters, they can’t help but feel a little redundant.
Yet, the lack of focus on the supporting cast doesn’t matter when the main characters are this compelling, as it’s when Alex and Tess have to confront the messiness of their relationship that Is This Thing On? excels most. A story of separation told with a more light-hearted spin, it could even draw comparisons to Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (2019), coincidently also starring Laura Dern, but Cooper, Arnett and co-writer Mark Chappell do more than enough to divorce the screenplay from any similarities they may share. And now, free from the pressure of trying to establish himself as a director, Cooper’s more refined filmmaking sees him dispel any accusations of pretension, crafting a true crowd-pleaser in the process.
Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
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