IS THIS THING ON? (2025) review
written by: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, and Mark Chappell
produced by: Bradley Cooper, Weston Middleton, Will Arnet & Kris Thykier
directed by: Bradley Cooper
rated: R (for language throughout, sexual references and some drug use)
runtime: 121 min.
U.S. release date: December 19, 2025
Actor Bradley Cooper’s directing filmography thus far has been both ambitious and tremendous. Regardless of what you thought of 2018’s “A Star is Born” and 2023’s “Maestro”, they were both fascinating examinations of complex and flawed musicians. Both of them starred Cooper in significant lead roles, and were mighty endeavors that earned awards, and now, for his third outing as director, Cooper offers “Is This Thing On?” He dials it down for a small-scale story focused on a married couple navigating sudden seismic shifts in their lives. It’s not just a break-up movie, nor is it solely about stand-up comics (hence the title), as co-writers Mark Chappell and Will Arnett (who also plays a lead role) loosely mine real-life material from John Bishop’s life, a former English athlete-turned-comedian. I found out about that part after I watched the movie, and it made me want to see it.
That’s not to say I regret watching the movie, but it’s one of those rare cases where it feels both over-and underwritten. Nevertheless, it’s worth watching Arnett work alongside Laura Dern, both of whom deliver fully realized, authentic performances.
“Is This Thing On?” premiered at the New York City Film Festival in October, which is fitting since it prominently features the city’s stand-up comedy scene. As the film opens, Alex Novak (Arnett) and his wife, Tess Novak (Dern), have finally agreed that it’s time to end their marriage. Since this is where we meet them, we’re not privy to what their marriage was like before this moment or how and when it started to dissolve. These things don’t happen overnight, unless they do.
After two decades together with two young boys, they have decided to end it. Alex opts to move out, find a West Village apartment, and figure out what living solo will look like. One night, he stumbles into a comedy club (it’s the Olive Tree Café, a fabled spot on MacDougal Street) and unknowingly puts his name down on an open mic list, primarily for a free drink, since he doesn’t have cash for the $15 cover charge. When his name is called, he reluctantly gets on stage and fumbles his way through a comedy set by sharing about the state of his life in a deadpan manner. He mentions his deteriorating marriage and his wife, and he’s surprised by the laughs he gets.
Realizing this reception has become a source of enjoyment, Alex begins developing an act as he commits to additional performances. It starts to change his disposition, as he has something to look forward to. However, Alex is initially quite reluctant to bring up this newfound passion with those close to him, like his best friend, Balls (Bradley Cooper), and his wife, Christine (Andra Day), or his family, including his mother, Marilyn (Christine Ebersole), and father, Jan (Ciarán Hinds), but Tess starts to notice changes in him. She also begins to make a significant change by reconnecting with her passion for volleyball. Tess used to be quite the star player back in college, and now she’s back in that world, this time pursuing coaching with the hopes of leading a women’s team to the Olympics. Through these emotional and creative changes, the separated couple finds it hard to completely disconnect from each other, finding it a curious thing to observe each other’s changes.
While their connection remains tenuous, they’ve known each other too long not to take an interest in their respective changes. That being said, it’s unclear if they’ve totally cut themselves off from their previous lives. It’s explained away that Alex is a “finance guy” and that we vaguely understood Tess was a stay-at-home mom, but that’s all we get. In a midlife-crisis move, Alex purchases a new blue-and-white VW van (clearly, he’s not a struggling amateur comic) to shuttle his kids back and forth between the suburbs and the city. It’s not hard to believe Arnett as a dad or as a husband falling out of love, but it’s hard to get on board with him playing an amateur comedian, because, after all, he is a comedian in real life. Yes, I know, I know: acting. But it’s still a challenge to believe that Arnett can get on stage and struggle to find his footing.
What’s odd about “Is This Thing On?” is how it immerses itself in the world of stand-up comedy, yet it’s not all that funny. Other movies about stand-up comics have had that effect as well, such as “Funny People” and “Punchline”, since there’s something to be said about using comedy as a form of catharsis. Cooper grounds the movie by including actual New York City comedians, such as Reggie Conquest, Dave Attell, Chloe Raddcliffe, and Jordan Jensen, playing variations of themselves, and Amy Sedaris pops up as a comedian wrangler at the nightclub Alex frequents. We also get comic actor Sean Hayes in a supporting role, with his real-life husband, Scott Icenogle, playing his character’s spouse.
The film is at its best when we see a tight-knit community develop backstage at the club, but not enough time is spent on their dynamic. It’s also intriguing to consider how accepting and normal it is to see people get up on stage and tell jokes, like performing songs in an open mic. That’s a far cry from the burgeoning scene that the likes of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were coming up in. Still, not enough time is spent on the dynamics among the comedians. There’s a sense of support and competition, even attraction, but how they navigate all that is never fully explored.
A film that covers this kind of camaraderie better is Mike Birbiglia’s “Don’t Think Twice,” a brilliantly astute comedy from 2016. But then again, Alex isn’t necessarily setting out to make a career change; he’s instead using stand-up as a lifeline, more or less working out his domestic disturbance on stage, eventually getting recognition from the audience and hoping not to embarrass himself.
If it weren’t for the primarily handheld camerawork from Matthew Libatigue, who also lensed Cooper’s previous movies, the movie would feel like an edgy James L. Brooks joint. Libatique’s goal is to be intimate, staying close to the characters as they process information and navigate living in the moment. Sometimes this works, but most of the time it’s hard not to become too aware of the approach. Cooper is definitely trying to capture Arnett’s energy by adopting this style, but it often feels forced.
Characterization isn’t always well-defined, with the screenplay often bouncing around in the name of complexity, but it instead communicates confusion. Dern is given an arc that goes from interest to disgust over Alex’s newfound passion, but there’s not enough here for her to define something as complex as the writers want it to be. It’s a bit of a ripcord effect when we see her dating a guy played by Peyton Manning of all people.
None of it is really all that surprising, considering “Is This Thing On?” is mainly focused on Alex and his stand-up. We spend more time with the throw-away character Cooper plays, a struggling actor (ha!) whose following his “big dream”, but he seems to be playing a character that’s in a completely different movie.
As an examination of reawakening, “Is This Thing On?” is easy enough to follow, but the relationship complexity gets a little unwieldy for Cooper. It’s hard to believe that Alex and Tess will end up in a hopeful place by the film’s conclusion, considering they’re divorcing and really don’t like each other all that much. One can’t help but wonder what they saw in each other in the first place.
RATING: **
