Film Review: IS THIS THING ON?: Bradley Cooper Directs an Emotional Drama With Great Turns from Will Arnett and Laura Dern [NYFF 2025]

Is This Thing On? Review

Is This Thing On? (2025) Film Review from the 63rd Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Bradley Cooper, written by Will Arnett, John Bishop and Mark Chappell and starring Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper, Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Ciarán Hinds, Jordan Jensen, Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten, Peyton Manning, Chloe Radcliffe, Swanmy Sampaio, Amy Sedaris, Derek Gaines, Seyler Fox, Gabe Fazio and Christine Ebersole.

A  couple named Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) seem as if they’ve lost the magic in their marriage. They have two young kids together, but it seems as if the time has come for Alex to move out of the couple’s home in order to start anew. That’s the basic premise at the start of director Bradley Cooper’s humorous and touching new dramedy, Is This Thing On? This movie takes the viewer backstage inside a New York City comedy club as Alex tries his hand at stand-up with funny and moving results. This film is carried all the way through by Arnett and Dern’s complex characterizations which rank among the best performances in contemporary movies this year.

We also meet another couple, Christine and Balls (played well by Andra Day and Bradley Cooper, himself), who seem as if they are experiencing a rocky road in their relationship as well despite their long-term togetherness. This couple is juxtaposed to the one played by Arnett and Dern at given intervals in the film. Although Alex and Tess have problems, they try to keep things civilized for their young boys. When Alex doesn’t seem to have $15 on hand for the cover charge to enter a club, he starts to see potential in doing stand-up comedy at the venue in order to express himself and his viewpoints on relationships and other difficult topics.

This movie goes back and forth between scenes of Alex trying to make a “go” of his new potential comedy career and sequences of him interacting with his family. When Alex shows up one day in a sizable van, it frustrates Tess immensely. In fact, a picture of her expression at this juncture is at the center of the movie and the photo ultimately replaces one of a younger Tess which was taken from behind later in the film. Tess is an athlete who has the potential to be more than she actually is at the moment. When she finds herself out with a new man with potential professional connections for Tess (played by Peyton Manning), imagine her surprise when Alex gets on the stage to do comedy and begins dissecting his marriage to Tess on-stage for all to hear (her presence there is unbeknownst to him, of course).

I liked the presence of real-life comics such as Chloe Radcliffe in the film who help give the movie some authenticity. Whereas funnyman Sean Hayes also has a part in the picture, the movie is most effective when it focuses on Alex and his routines in front of a crowd at the club. Being sprinkled with funny comics gives the new movie an edge which works considerably in its favor. Ciarán Hinds also shines in the supporting cast as the dad who comes to Alex’s show at one point late in the film and gets more than he bargained for. Hinds adds a considerable amount of depth to his character as was expected from the great actor.

This movie has the feel of Punchline, the Tom Hanks starrer from the late 1980’s about stand-up comics. That was a slightly better film than Is This Thing On?, but the quality of the new picture is hard to complain about given Cooper’s competent direction. Somebody once said “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Both the late 1980’s picture and the current film reflect that point and both films have a scene of their leading men breaking down on-stage in a nightclub. Here, Arnett’s performance is raw in this scene whereas the breakdown of Hanks in the other picture was a bit more relatable. Arnett’s Alex goes on a verbal rampage, tearing apart marriage and comparing marriage and the blood being sucked out of him by it to the wrath of vampires. It’s a powerful moment similar to the moment where Hanks’s character broke down in the other film.

Is This Thing On? also has a Jerry Maguire feel to it. It’s just set in the comedy world instead of the sports world. Cooper steals scenes in his role in the movie just like Cuba Gooding Jr. did in the other aforementioned film. When Cooper’s character asks Alex to spin around the picture of Tess to see the front of it, there is some genuine hilarity and Cooper plays the goofball best friend to perfection. It’s a substantial part in just a few scenes thanks to the abundance of humor Cooper (complete with his dressy hat in the picture) brings to the role. Andra Day is also well-cast as his significant other.

There is a terrific closing sequence to the film set to the song, “Under Pressure.” It plays in a heartfelt way to address the themes of hope and love when it comes to trying to stay in a marriage. Marriage isn’t always happy and it isn’t always painful, but it’s a compromise and this movie teaches us that with its well-layered lead characters.

Will Arnett is absolutely Oscar-nomination worthy for his energetic performance here. He cuts deep in the way he brings his character to life and develops him both in the domestic scenes and the comedy club ones. Laura Dern is a master of her craft and creates a lovable woman who knows how hard life is and must deal with her husband’s peculiarity on a daily basis. She has quirks too, but, together, can they find a path to salvation which would help them be there for each other and for their kids?

Is This Thing On? is so efficiently made that audiences could find themselves deeply invested in the characters here from beginning to end. That is the magic of Cooper’s direction which makes this film stand out from several other dramedies this year. If we care about the characters’ predicaments and eventually cry because we feel their pain and passion, that marks the distinction of a great filmmaker and Cooper has terrific lead performances at his helm to boot.

Is This Thing On? will ultimately touch the heart by the time the end credits come up. Cooper has crafted another winner and his goofball turn in the supporting part he plays here is proof that the filmmaker knows when to lighten things up when necessary in order to keep the tone of the film from becoming too dark for its own good. While the picture doesn’t always get into the cutthroat aspects of the comedy business, it makes for an entertaining viewing experience that should be cherished for fans of both the stars and the director.

Rating: 8.5/10

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