Bradley Cooper is kinda becoming the king of the "performer" trilogy. First, he gave us the gritty, whiskey-soaked country-rock of A Star Is Born. Then he pivoted to the high-culture, manic energy of Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. But his latest project, Is This Thing On?, takes a sharp left turn into the humid, low-ceilinged basement of New York’s comedy scene. Honestly, if you were expecting another grand, sweeping tragedy, you’ve got the wrong movie.
This isn't just another Bradley Cooper vanity project. Actually, he’s barely in the spotlight this time. He directed it, sure, and he plays a supporting character named (I kid you not) Balls, but the heavy lifting is done by Will Arnett.
Basically, the film follows Alex (Arnett), a finance guy whose twenty-year marriage to Tess (played by the legendary Laura Dern) is falling apart with a whimper rather than a bang. It’s amicable. It’s polite. It’s also soul-crushing. Alex ends up doing stand-up comedy not because he’s funny, but because he didn't want to pay a $15 cover at a bar and signing up for the open mic was the only way to get in for free.
Why Is This Thing On Bradley Cooper Is Actually About Midlife Catharsis
People keep calling this a midlife crisis movie. Cooper himself has been pretty vocal about correcting that. He calls it a "midlife catharsis." There’s a difference. A crisis is buying a Ferrari; a catharsis is finally admitting you’ve been unhappy for a decade while eating a weed cookie and crying in front of strangers at the Comedy Cellar.
The movie is loosely inspired by the real-life story of British comedian John Bishop. Bishop was a pharmaceutical salesman who started doing stand-up while his marriage was on the rocks. It’s a weirdly specific niche: the "divorced man finds a microphone" genre.
- The Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, and a very "stoned actor" version of Bradley Cooper.
- The Vibe: Handheld cameras, intimate close-ups, and the literal sweat of a comedy club.
- The Hook: It’s about how we perform for the people we love until we forget who we actually are.
The Will Arnett Factor
We’re used to Arnett being the loudest guy in the room. Think Gob Bluth or BoJack Horseman. Here, he’s stripped back. He’s raw. He plays Alex as a guy who is profoundly lost at sea. To prepare, Arnett actually did live sets at comedy clubs for six weeks before filming. He told Vanity Fair that some nights he "shit the bed," and that’s exactly the energy Cooper wanted on screen.
What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Filming wrapped in April 2025, and the movie hit theaters in December. It’s a Searchlight Pictures release, which usually means they’re sniffing around for awards. But Is This Thing On? feels smaller. It’s more like a spiritual sequel to Silver Linings Playbook—which Cooper starred in—than his recent, more "Oscar-baity" directorial efforts.
Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer who has worked with Cooper before, uses handheld shots to make you feel like you’re standing on that stage with Alex. You see the red and blue backlights hitting the lines on Arnett’s face. It’s uncomfortable. It’s supposed to be.
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The Cameos and the Comedy Scene
The movie doesn't fake the comedy world. They used real New York comics like Jordan Jensen, Chloe Radcliffe, and Dave Attell. They aren't just background noise; they’re the community that catches Alex when his life falls apart. Even Peyton Manning shows up for a cameo.
One of the most talked-about scenes involves Tess (Laura Dern) accidentally sitting in the audience while Alex is on stage delivering a bitter, revelatory rant about their marriage. Instead of a big "Hollywood" explosion, Dern plays it with this nervous, internalized range that honestly might be some of her best work. She doesn't scream; she just breaks a little bit inside.
Is This Thing On? vs. Marriage Story
Comparison is inevitable. Both involve a marriage ending, both feature Laura Dern (though she’s the wife here, not the lawyer), and both are deeply personal. But where Marriage Story was about the legal machinery of divorce, Is This Thing On? is about the identity of the people left behind.
Alex is trying to find a voice. Tess is trying to find her passion for volleyball again (she was a former elite athlete). It’s about the "awkward stage" of figuring out how to be parents to two boys—Felix and Jude—while living in separate zip codes.
Key Details You Might Have Missed
- The Title: It’s a pun. It’s about the microphone, but it’s also about the spark in a relationship. Is the "thing" between them still on?
- The Character "Balls": Cooper plays Alex’s best friend, a struggling, perpetually high actor. It’s a bizarre, off-kilter performance that provides the comic foil to the heavy divorce drama.
- The Ending: No spoilers, but it involves a school performance of "Under Pressure" and a lot of emotional honesty.
If you’re going to watch Is This Thing On?, don't go in looking for a laugh-a-minute sitcom. It’s a dramedy that’s more "dram" than "edy." It’s about the quiet, prickly grace of two people realizing they aren't the same people they were twenty years ago.
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Actionable Insights for the Viewer:
- Watch it for the performances: Will Arnett is doing career-best work here. If you only know him from Arrested Development, this will shock you.
- Pay attention to the cinematography: Matthew Libatique’s work in the comedy club scenes is a masterclass in making a small space feel like a battlefield.
- Look for the subtext: The movie is less about stand-up and more about the "performance" of being a husband or a wife.