After exploring fame's corrosive effects in "A Star Is Born" and artistic genius in "Maestro," Bradley Cooper scales back his directorial ambitions without sacrificing emotional depth in "Is This Thing On?", a gentle Comedy about divorce, self-discovery, and the messy process of figuring out whether a 26-year marriage is truly over. Will Arnett delivers a career-best performance as Alex Novak, a finance executive who stumbles into stand-up comedy while processing his amicable-but-painful separation from wife Tess (Laura Dern). What begins as a story about finding your voice on stage gradually reveals itself as something more intimate: a portrait of two people rediscovering who they are individually and whether they still fit together. Co-written by Cooper, Arnett, and Mark Chappell, this Drama refuses to villainize either party or manufacture artificial conflict. Instead, it offers something rarer—a mature examination of how relationships evolve, how people grow apart without necessarily falling out of love, and how sometimes the hardest work happens after you've already decided to separate. Distributed by Searchlight Pictures, this 2025 Movie won't dazzle you with technical pyrotechnics or grand artistic statements, but it will sneak up on you with its honest observations and genuinely affecting performances that never beg for your sympathy.
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Director: Bradley CooperWriters: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Mark Chappell
Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper, Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Scott Icenogle, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Amy Sedaris
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 124 minutes (2 hours 4 minutes)
Release Date: December 19, 2025
"Is This Thing On?" opens with the most anti-climactic divorce announcement in cinema history. While brushing their teeth before bed, Tess casually says to Alex, "I think we need to call it, right?" He responds, "I think so too." No screaming, no thrown dishes, no dramatic revelations of infidelity. Just two people who've been together for over two decades acknowledging what they both already know. Inspired by British comedian John Bishop's real-life experience of accidentally discovering stand-up during his divorce, the film follows Alex as he wanders into New York's Comedy Cellar one night, signs up for open mic to avoid the $15 cover charge, and finds himself unburdening his marital anxieties in front of strangers. What starts as accidental therapy becomes a genuine passion, giving Alex a space to process feelings he didn't know how to articulate. Meanwhile, Tess—a former Olympic volleyball player who gave up her career for motherhood—begins coaching again, rediscovering her own identity. The film asks provocative questions: What does it mean to be unhappy in a marriage versus unhappy with one? Can two good people who genuinely love each other still be wrong for each other? And is separation always an ending, or could it be a necessary reset?
Story and Screenplay
The screenplay by Cooper, Arnett, and Chappell makes several smart structural choices that distinguish it from typical divorce dramas. Most notably, it skips the "breaking the news" scenes entirely—by the time we meet Alex and Tess at a dinner with friends, they've already separated. Alex has moved into a stereotypically divorced-dad apartment downtown (grey walls, minimal furniture, no personality), and they're splitting custody of their twin 10-year-old sons. This narrative efficiency allows the film to focus on what's more interesting: not why they're separating, but how they navigate the aftermath.
The script's greatest strength is its refusal to assign blame. There's no cheating scandal, no explosive betrayal, no villainous spouse. Alex and Tess are simply two people who've drifted into different versions of themselves over 26 years. The screenplay trusts us to understand that sometimes love isn't enough when two people have stopped growing in the same direction. This mature perspective feels refreshing in a genre that often relies on manufacturing clear-cut heroes and villains.
The stand-up comedy framework provides more than just comic relief—it becomes a narrative engine for Alex's emotional journey. Each set reveals more about what went wrong in the marriage, but crucially, Alex's material never devolves into bitter ex-wife jokes. Even when mining his divorce for laughs, there's genuine affection and confusion rather than resentment. The screenplay shows how performance can be both cathartic release and avoidance mechanism; Alex is working through his feelings publicly while still not addressing them directly with Tess.
Where the script occasionally stumbles is in its sprawling supporting cast and B-plots that don't always justify their screen time. Cooper's character Balls (yes, that's his name), a struggling actor married to artist Christine (Andra Day), provides comic relief but sometimes feels like an indulgence. Their scenes, while often funny, can drag when the focus shifts away from Alex and Tess for extended periods. Similarly, the weekend getaway subplot with their coupled friends offers amusing moments but doesn't add much we couldn't have gleaned from tighter scenes.
The dialogue has a naturalistic, almost improvised quality that serves the material well. Conversations feel like real people talking rather than screenplay constructions hitting beats. When Alex's mother Marilyn tells him she has no intention of giving up her friendship with Tess despite the divorce, or when his father Jan gently tries to understand his son's pain, these exchanges resonate because they sound like actual family dynamics rather than written scenes.
The screenplay's handling of Alex's relationship with his sons is particularly well-observed. The scene where they discover his notebook of jokes about them and their mother feels genuinely uncomfortable—not melodramatic, just honest about how children might feel becoming material for their dad's new hobby. The script doesn't provide easy resolutions to these tensions, which strengthens its overall authenticity.
Acting and Characters
Will Arnett has spent most of his career playing variations on the same archetype: the insecure, self-absorbed man-child (see: Gob Bluth in "Arrested Development," BoJack Horseman). "Is This Thing On?" represents a dramatic departure and reveals depths many didn't know Arnett possessed. His Alex is subdued, genuinely sad rather than performatively depressed, and capable of sincere introspection without undercutting it with ironic distance.
Arnett's comic timing remains impeccable—watch how he delivers lines during his stand-up sets, finding rhythms and pauses that feel authentic to someone still learning the craft. But it's his dramatic work that impresses most. The weight he carries in early scenes, the way his face lights up when he gets unexpected laughs, the genuine confusion when trying to understand where his marriage went wrong—all of it feels completely authentic. There's no winking at the audience, no safety net of humor to fall back on when things get emotionally vulnerable.
The chemistry between Arnett and Laura Dern elevates every scene they share. Dern brings her characteristic warmth and intelligence to Tess, but she also finds layers of pride, frustration, and longing that make the character three-dimensional. Tess isn't just the supportive ex-wife watching her husband find himself—she's on her own journey of rediscovery, reconnecting with the athlete she was before becoming a full-time mother. Dern's subtle physical transformation as Tess regains confidence through coaching is lovely to watch.
What makes their performances so effective is how they convey 26 years of shared history through small moments. The way they naturally finish each other's sentences when talking to friends, how they instinctively move in sync when dealing with their kids, the muscle memory of marriage that doesn't disappear just because they've decided to separate—Arnett and Dern sell all of it. Their scenes together crackle with the kind of lived-in intimacy that can only come from actors completely trusting each other.
Bradley Cooper, in a supporting role as the hilariously self-absorbed actor Balls, provides broad comic relief. His character is cartoonish compared to the grounded central couple, but Cooper commits fully to the bit. Balls is the kind of friend who makes everything about himself, and Cooper mines comedy from his obliviousness while also suggesting genuine affection underneath the narcissism.
Andra Day as Christine brings grounded energy to what could have been a one-note role. Her friendship with Tess feels authentic, and her scenes offering marital advice (or anti-marital advice) provide interesting counterpoints to Alex and Tess's journey.
The standout supporting performances come from Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex's parents. Ebersole is hilariously blunt as Marilyn, a woman who loves her son but has no intention of pretending his ex-wife isn't still part of the family. Hinds brings quiet sensitivity as Jan, a gentle soul who understands his son's emotional turmoil perhaps better than Alex understands it himself. Their scenes add generational perspective—this is what a long marriage looks like when it actually works.
Sean Hayes and real-life husband Scott Icenogle as the newly married Geoffrey and Stephen provide a sweet contrast to Alex and Tess's complicated dynamic, showing the optimistic beginning stages of commitment.
Direction and Technical Aspects
Bradley Cooper's direction here is noticeably less showy than in "Maestro," but that restraint serves the material. Working again with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, Cooper creates an intimate visual style that stays close to faces, capturing micro-expressions and unspoken emotions. The camera often holds on Arnett's face during his stand-up sets in uncomfortable close-ups, making us feel his nervousness and gradual confidence.
Cooper demonstrates impressive range as a director. The comedy club scenes have propulsive energy, with Libatique's camera weaving through crowds and capturing the specific atmosphere of New York's comedy scene. The domestic scenes feel naturally lit and blocked, like we're eavesdropping on real family moments. There's a looseness to the filmmaking that suggests Cooper gave his actors room to find moments organically.
Some of Cooper's visual flourishes feel a bit indulgent. A transition that literally takes Alex from a bedroom argument straight to the Comedy Cellar stage is clever but obvious. Occasionally the camera movements draw attention to themselves when simplicity might have been more effective. But these are minor quibbles in otherwise assured direction.
The film's greatest technical achievement is how it captures the specific geography and atmosphere of New York City without being precious about it. The Comedy Cellar feels like the actual place rather than a Hollywood approximation. The suburban house where Tess lives with the boys feels lived-in and real. Cooper understands that authenticity of place grounds even heightened emotional moments.
The editing maintains good momentum despite the film's two-hour runtime, though some scenes—particularly those focused on the supporting couples—could have been trimmed without losing anything essential. The pacing occasionally sags in the middle section before regaining energy as Alex and Tess's dynamic shifts.
Music and Atmosphere
James Newberry's jazzy score creates anxious crescendos that underscore the emotional uncertainty without overwhelming scenes. The music is most effective when it's subtle, providing texture rather than telegraphing emotions. During comedy club scenes, the score knows when to step back and let the ambient sounds of laughter and conversation take over.
The film's use of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" during a school band performance provides an unexpectedly moving climax. While it can't match the devastating power of that song in "Aftersun," Cooper finds his own way into the material, using it to represent the pressure Alex and Tess have been under and their potential release from it.
The overall atmosphere is warm and inviting despite the subject matter. This isn't the icy aesthetic of "Marriage Story" or the heightened melodrama of many divorce films. Cooper creates a world that feels welcoming, where even painful conversations happen in spaces filled with natural light and comfortable furniture. It's an atmosphere that suggests hope rather than despair.
Strengths and Weaknesses
What Works:
- Will Arnett's career-best dramatic performance that reveals unexpected depth
- Laura Dern's warmth and intelligence bringing Tess to three-dimensional life
- The chemistry between Arnett and Dern that sells 26 years of shared history
- Mature screenplay that refuses to assign blame or manufacture villains
- Honest exploration of how good people can drift apart without malice
- Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds providing generational perspective
- Authentic depiction of New York's comedy scene with actual comedians
- Bradley Cooper's intimate direction that stays close to faces and emotions
- The decision to skip "breaking the news" scenes and focus on aftermath
- Natural, improvised-feeling dialogue
- Refusal to make stand-up the point—it's therapy, not a career move
- Sweet ensemble work from supporting cast
- Ending that feels honest rather than forced
What Doesn't:
- Supporting couple subplots that sometimes drag and distract from main story
- Bradley Cooper's character Balls, while funny, occasionally feels indulgent
- Some visual flourishes that call attention to themselves unnecessarily
- Runtime could be tighter—some scenes overstay their welcome
- Peyton Manning's cameo, while amusing, feels oddly inserted
- Tess's backstory as an Olympic athlete is either too emphasized or not enough
- The film occasionally can't decide if it's about stand-up or divorce
- Some tonal inconsistencies between broad comedy and intimate drama
- Alex's comedy material is only modestly funny, which slightly undercuts premise
- Middle section sags before regaining momentum in final act
Final Verdict
"Is This Thing On?" represents Bradley Cooper's most personal and least showy directorial effort, and that restraint serves him well. After the grand artistic statements of "A Star Is Born" and "Maestro," this smaller-scale project feels like Cooper giving himself permission to simply tell a good story about recognizable people without needing to prove his genius. The result is his most emotionally accessible film, even if it lacks the technical audacity of his previous work.
What makes the film so effective is its fundamental kindness toward its characters. Alex and Tess aren't bad people or even particularly flawed—they're just two individuals who've changed over 26 years and aren't sure they still fit together. The screenplay understands that this isn't a moral failing but a natural human phenomenon. By refusing to create villains or manufacture easy explanations, Cooper and his co-writers honor the complexity of long-term relationships.
Will Arnett's performance is revelatory. He's always been a gifted comic actor, but here he demonstrates dramatic range that should permanently alter how Hollywood sees him. His Alex is deeply felt and completely convincing—you believe every moment of his confusion, his gradual joy in discovering stand-up, his lingering love for Tess, his uncertainty about the future. It's the kind of performance that makes you reconsider an actor's entire career.
Laura Dern matches Arnett beat for beat, bringing intelligence and dignity to Tess without making her a saint. She's allowed to be frustrated, proud, confused, and occasionally petty—all while remaining fundamentally sympathetic. The scenes between Arnett and Dern feel like watching a real couple work through real issues, which is the highest compliment I can pay to both actors and Cooper's direction.
The film works best when focused tightly on Alex and Tess navigating their new dynamic. The supporting characters, while well-acted, sometimes feel like distractions from the more interesting central relationship. Cooper's tendency to let scenes run long becomes more noticeable when we're watching Balls discuss his acting career rather than Alex and Tess figure out their marriage.
Cooper's direction shows continued growth as a filmmaker, even if it's less immediately impressive than his work on "Maestro." The intimacy he creates, particularly in scenes between Arnett and Dern, demonstrates confidence in his material and trust in his actors. He knows when to stay close on faces and when to pull back, when to let silence speak and when music can enhance emotions.
As a companion piece to "Marriage Story," "Is This Thing On?" offers a notably different perspective. Where Noah Baumbach's film focused on the legal and emotional warfare of divorce, Cooper's looks for solutions and possibilities. It's ultimately more optimistic about the human capacity for growth and change, even when that growth leads away from—or perhaps back to—a partner.
The film's greatest achievement is making you care deeply about whether Alex and Tess stay together without feeling manipulated into that emotional investment. They feel like people you know, dealing with problems that are universal even in their specificity. Whether they reconcile or move on separately, you believe they'll both be okay, and you're rooting for whatever outcome makes them happiest.
Recommended for: Fans of Will Arnett seeking his best dramatic work, Laura Dern admirers, viewers who enjoyed the sincerity of "Marriage Story" but want something more hopeful, Bradley Cooper enthusiasts following his directorial evolution, anyone navigating divorce or separation, people interested in honest portrayals of long-term relationships, comedy about real pain rather than manufactured conflict.
Not recommended for: Those seeking Cooper's technical virtuosity from "Maestro," viewers wanting a traditional romantic comedy with clear beats, audiences who find stand-up comedy inherently tedious, people looking for fast-paced entertainment, anyone exhausted by divorce narratives regardless of approach.
"Is This Thing On?" opens in theaters December 19, 2025. For more thoughtful Film Reviews, explore our coverage of 2025 Films and dive into our sections on Comedy and Drama cinema.
 Movie Review: Bradley Cooper Crafts a Warmhearted, Honest Look at Love After Marriage){kind=link}
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