IS THIS THING ON? (2025): Bradley Cooper’s Newest Film to Compete in Drama Categories at the Golden Globes

New Movie About Comedy to Compete as a Drama

Bradley Cooper‘s third feature as a director, Is This Thing On?, will compete for nominations in the dramatic categories at the Golden Globes.

Is This Thing On? is poised to become a box-office hit when it is released by Searchlight into theaters this December. FilmBook screened the film at the New York Film Festival and reviewed it quite well. Now, the movie is set to go against some heavy-hitting dramas at the Golden Globes in an effort to score nods for stars, Will Arnett and Laura Dern, as well as for the picture itself and director, Bradley Cooper who also co-stars in the movie.

Cooper’s third film as a director is about a middle-aged man (played by Will Arnett) who finds a new hobby performing in comedy clubs after the disintegration of his marriage to his wife (Laura Dern). Arnett and Dern were both stupendous in the picture and under the new categorization of the picture, it will go up against prestigious dramatic movies like Hamnet in an attempt to get some love from the organization formerly known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

One Battle After Another has been predicted to be a major contender at the Golden Globes. We announced last week that the Paul Thomas Anderson directed Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer, itself, will be competing in the Comedy/Musical categories at the Globes which leaves the opportunity for Is This Thing On? to sneak in the backdoor at the Globes through the dramatic categories as opposed to the more difficult to get into comedy/musical categories.

Will Arnett and Laura Dern are 100% deserving of nominations. While FilmBook hasn’t weighed in all the competition yet for the 2025 awards-caliber pictures, it is safe to say that Dern and Arnett delivered terrific, complex performances full of heart that make them definite contenders for Globe nods in their respective category.

At the end of Is This Thing On?, the song from Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure” plays as the plot of the picture resolves and the result is a powerful conclusion to a dramatic film full of humor and emotion. Cooper previously earned accolades for his other two features as a director, A Star is Born and Maestro. While this year may be a bit too competitive to get him nominated as either Best Director or Best Supporting Actor for Is This Thing On?, don’t rule out the possibility of the film, Arnett and Dern making the final cuts in the categories of Best Picture (Drama), Best Actor and Best Actress (both of those would be in the dramatic category as well). Look for the movie in theaters when it is released on December 19th.

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