IS THIS THING ON | ©2025 Searchlight Pictures

Rating: R
Stars: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Sean Hayes, Scott Icenogle, Ciarán Hinds, Christine Ebersole, Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten
Writers: Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett & Mark Chappell, story by Will Arnett & Mark Chappell & John Bishop
Director: Bradley Cooper
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: December 19, 2025

After directing and starring in two big musical dramas, 2018’s pop-rocker A STAR IS BORN and 2023’s Leonard Bernstein biopic MAESTRO, Bradley Cooper has taken on a smaller-scale, more dialogue-driven project with IS THIS THING ON?

IS THIS THING ON? still revolves around performance, but this time, it’s in the world of New York City comedy clubs, and the protagonist, Will Arnett’s Alex Novak, doesn’t expect or seek (or receive) stardom. In fact, Alex isn’t looking to get in front of an audience at all; he winds up on stage almost by accident. However, once he’s there, he finds it therapeutic to make humorous observations about his life and get positive responses from strangers.

Alex’s twenty-year marriage to Tess (Laura Dern) has dissolved, albeit mostly amicably. Alex is now living in a one-bedroom apartment, though he has shared custody of his and Tess’s fraternal-twin ten-year-old sons (Blake Kane and Calvin Knegten), plus their two dogs.

Meanwhile, Tess is struggling with her own identity crisis. Tess was once upon a time a volleyball player with a team that medaled at the Olympics. Tess misses the sport, she misses being physical, she misses having a life outside the home – and decides to create one.

The screenplay by Cooper and Arnett & Mark Chappell, from a story by Arnett & Chappell & John Bishop, explores the dynamics of the relationship between Alex and Tess. Tess isn’t as over Alex as she imagines, and Alex isn’t over Tess at all. The question is, will they be able to see themselves well enough to understand and articulate what they want from each other?

That’s a worthy premise for a relationship movie. Dern is especially convincing as a former athlete who still has a lively gleam in her eye.

Arnett is persuasive as Alex, but one of the quirks of IS THIS THING ON? is that there’s an aggression underneath his mild-mannered demeanor. We don’t fully believe that he never wanted the spotlight before this. It doesn’t help that we don’t see much of his actual job – it may not be fulfilling, but it’s providing enough income for a nice house in the suburbs, plus a decent apartment once he moves out. As this is a character study, it seems like we ought to be given some notion of how he feels about how he spends his workday and whether he’s any good at it.

Alex and Tess share a circle of friends who include oddly matched couple Christine (Andra Day) and Balls (Bradley Cooper). Balls is an eccentric and egocentric actor who is absent-minded but not malicious, while Christine is more demanding. They are amusing in small doses. Ciarán Hinds and Christine Ebersole are solid as Alex’s parents.

We can see why the comedy club appeals to Alex emotionally – it gives him a warm support system. We also get an intriguing look at the workings of the establishment.

What we don’t get are killer sets from either Alex or any of his peers. It’s possible this is deliberate, so as not to distract us from the film’s larger themes. Still, as the basis of Alex’s act is public self-examination as comedic entertainment, it ought to be more insightful or more laughter-inducing or both for the level of success it is shown to achieve here.

IS THIS THING ON? has some intelligent observations about human connection and communication and strong acting performances. It’s just that, given its overall tone, we could wish for it to be funnier.

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