'Is This Thing On?' Review: A Stripped Back, Tender Winner
Director Bradley Cooper has decided to scale things back for his third feature film Is This Thing On?, a tender and often very funny comedy that makes great use of its talented cast and emotionally accessible story.
The story centers on Alex (Will Arnett), a middle-aged man whose marriage has fallen apart and feels aimless until he finds new purpose in the New York comedy scene, where his new standup act becomes his emotional outlet. Meanwhile, he has to navigate a new normal with his wife Tess (Laura Dern) as they attempt co-parenting through this turbulent time. In another director’s hands, this could’ve been a deeply depressing and laborious affair, but Bradley Cooper, along with a strong script penned by Arnett, Mark Chappell, and John Bishop, is able to keep the film light on its feet as it explores the ups and downs of Alex’s new journey.
Arnett has always been a talented comedic actor, but it was clear he was capable of far more than providing laughs. Thankfully, Cooper saw that same potential and made an inspired casting choice putting him in the lead here. Arnett not only provides the film with its emotional anchor, but he delivers by far and away the strongest performance of his career. He’s able to toe the line beautifully between being funny and emotionally engaging, effectively showcasing the peaks and valleys of Alex’s newfound passion and separation from his wife. Alex is a character you want to see succeed and that’s do in large part to Arnett’s terrific work. The supporting cast is strong as well, Cooper providing plenty of laughs in his secondary role with Dern delivering some emotionally devastating work herself. Dern and Arnett have palpable chemistry and their scenes together are vibrating with passion and heartache as they make realizations about themselves and their marriage that are as sobering as they are heartbreaking.
Cooper’s direction is also wonderfully scaled back for his third feature. Unlike Maestro, a film with a far bigger visual scope that felt a little too self-indulgent for its own good, Cooper makes the right call scaling things down for this particular story, allowing the characters and story to have more of a focus. His direction feels very fly on the wall in the best ways possible, getting up close and personal with these characters especially during their most emotionally visceral moments, rarely stepping back with the camera. This visual intimacy Cooper establishes with the main characters helps their respective stories shine instead of drawing too much attention to itself. There are some nice visual flourishes here and there, but Cooper isn’t trying to do anything too flashy here and the film benefits tremendously from that approach.
The film also does an admirable job balancing the humor and heart. This isn’t a film that is ferociously funny, but there are a considerable amount of laughs throughout, never undercutting the potency of the story thankfully. However, this is a film that firmly wears its heart on its sleeve and that is absolutely its biggest asset. Whether its Alex exploring his new passion with childlike wonder and excitement or having difficult conversations with his kids and wife, there is an earnestness to the material that makes it easy to win the audience over. Finding one’s passion so late in life, especially under such harrowing circumstances, could give anyone vertigo and it was fascinating to see that portrayed here in such an effective way. This is a tender comedy, the kind that simply isn’t made much or very well anymore so to see Cooper successfully make one continues to show his versatility as a storyteller.
Unfortunately, the film does suffer from some minor issues that hold it back. First and foremost, the pacing is sluggish at best. The film clocks in at about two hours, but it feels substantially longer, notably feeling a bit aimless in its second act. This is a story that could’ve been told in a shorter amount of time with some trims that could’ve tightened up the pacing and overall experience. The supporting characters also don’t get much to do here. Cooper and Andra Day play a married couple who also have their fair share of issues and while their respective performances are strong, their story feels truncated and underwhelming. Also, while Ciarán Hinds delivers a fantastic performance as Alex’s father, the film could’ve used more of his presence scattered throughout.
Is This Thing On? may not be the most showy comedy out there, but that’s what makes it so engaging. Cooper’s less is more approach to the material, coupled with winning performances from his cast, give this film a singular voice that should be accessible to just about anyone. Cooper continues to prove he’s not only a talented actor, but a gifted, passionate storyteller who isn’t interested in telling the same kinds of stories again and again. His third feature shows a filmmaker who is hard to pin down and guess where he’ll go next, but this also makes him one of the most exciting storytellers working today.