Yup, marriage can be hard. And while separation or divorce can look like the emergency exit — you know, the glowing ESCAPE HATCH sign flickering in the distance — Is This Thing On? makes a persuasive case that pulling that lever doesn’t magically simplify anything. In fact, it may complicate life in brand-new, emotionally creative ways. Add in career pivots, pre-teen twins, overly invested friends, and parents who treat concern as an Olympic sport, and you’ve got the backdrop for this new film directed and co-written by Bradley Cooper.
The movie opens like a dropped tray at a diner — loud, messy, and impossible to ignore — before settling into nearly two hours of watching a separated couple hovering somewhere between reconciliation and complete emotional power outage. That couple is played with convincing weariness by Will Arnett and Laura Dern, who make marital limbo feel uncomfortably authentic. While the performances are strong, it’s the screenplay — written by Cooper, Arnett, and Dave Chappelle — that really keeps this thing upright. Given that creative lineup, it’s no shock that the laughs come early and often. The central conceit that Arnett’s Alex works through his emotional wreckage via open-mic stand-up is a smart one, allowing humor to act as both shield and confession booth. And honestly, with a holiday release date, the movie earns points for not wallowing in misery. Nobody needs a cinematic lump of coal in December.
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The acting bench is deep. Cooper pops up memorably as a slightly sad, self-aware “B-actor” whose scenes with Arnett crackle with insider wit. There are also a few unexpected cameos sprinkled throughout — the kind that make you lean over and whisper, “Wait… is that—?” I won’t spoil them here. Discovery is half the fun.
As a longtime New Yorker and unapologetic stand-up comedy obsessive, I’m happy to report that the film mostly passes the believability test. Mostly. Which brings us to the missing “A grade”. A few plot holes nag just enough to distract: chiefly, what exactly does Alex do for a living? Finance? Something finance-adjacent? He owns a Manhattan apartment and a house upstate, spends endless quality time with his kids, and seems permanently installed at comedy clubs. Somewhere, a paycheck must exist… but it’s suspiciously offscreen. These little logic gaps don’t sink the film, but they do poke holes in its otherwise grounded realism.
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Grade: B+
And maybe that’s the point. Is This Thing On? isn’t trying to be a perfectly balanced ledger — it’s more like an open-mic set itself: a little messy, occasionally indulgent, sometimes implausible, but often insightful in ways that sneak up on you. It understands that adulthood, marriage, and reinvention rarely follow clean story arcs. Sometimes you stumble, grab the mic, tell a joke that lands halfway… and keep going anyway. In that sense, the movie may be asking the same question its title does — not just of relationships, but of us. And if you’re listening closely, the answer might be yes.
There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Is This Thing On?.
| Rated: | () Language Throughout | Some Drug Use | Sexual References |
| Genres: | Comedy, Drama |
| USA release date: | 2025-12-19 |
| Movie length: | |
| Starring: | |
| Director: | Bradley Cooper |
| Writer(s): | Will Arnett, Mark Chappell, Bradley Cooper |
| Language: | en |
| Country: | US |
Plot
As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.
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