US EditionScreening at NYFF: Bradley Cooper’s ‘Is This Thing On?’
Bradley Cooper directs a comedy-drama about a man using stand-up comedy to process a 20-year marriage ending in a mutual, amicable divorce, reflecting on personal growth.
- On October 10, 'Is This Thing On?' premiered at the New York Film Festival, with Will Arnett starring as Alex Novak and Bradley Cooper directing, set for December 19 release.
- To cope with the split, Alex Novak takes up stand-up comedy as a way to process grief after a mutual separation from Tess Novak following their 20-year marriage.
- Arnett says of testing the material that `There were some great bombs`, while Alex’s amateurish stand-up at Olive Tree Café’s $15 cover charge open-mic leans on tired jokes.
- Several write-ups highlighted festival critics praised the film's gentle tone and lead performances by Will Arnett and Laura Dern, calling it watchable yet modest and unassuming.
- As Cooper's third directorial effort, the film shifts to a modest indie inspired by John Bishop, British comedian whose life roots the story in midlife reinvention while continuing Cooper's focus on performance and relationships.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Bradley Cooper On How Bestie Will Arnett Was “Bearing His Soul” In Stand-Up Comedy Movie ‘Is This Thing On?’ – NYFF Closing Night Premiere
“The only place for us to ever show this movie is here,” Bradley Cooper told the Alice Tully Hall New York Film Festival closing night crowd about his third directorial Is This Thing On? The festival itself was over the moon to receive the film knowing that Cooper had finished shooting a mere few months ago. They saw an unfinished print, and natch, were smitten. The movie, in many ways his Cooper’s love letter to the city where he went to grad…
‘Is This Thing On?’ Review: In Bradley Cooper’s Feel-Good Divorce Comedy, Will Arnett Is an Estranged Husband Who Does Stand-Up…as Therapy
It’s an observant, bittersweet, and eminently watchable movie, yet there’s an inner softness to it, a slightly pandering quality. Will Arnett, who has the look and demeanor of a less energized Michael Keaton, is likable enough in a slightly mopey way, but he has done a lot of sitcom work, and it shows. In "Is This Thing On?," Arnett seems, in essence, to play Alex as a sitcom dad — sharp-tongued yet benign, lost in his daze of self-interest, wit…
'Is This Thing On?' review: Will Arnett and Bradley Cooper flop on stand-up comedy
As an actor, Bradley Cooper can be exciting and explosive because he refuses to take himself all that seriously. In critically heralded films like Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, even Guardians of the Galaxy, where he voiced Rocket Raccoon, he gamely plays the fool, egotistical, wrathful, and/or uncouth. Yet as a filmmaker, Cooper is tediously serious, even when making the divorce-centered comedy Is This Thing On? Curiously, Cooper doe…
‘Is This Thing On?’ Review: Bradley Cooper’s ‘Marriage Story’ Midlife Crisis Standup Movie Could Use More Crisis of Its Own
“I think we need to call it,” Tess (Laura Dern) tells Alex (Will Arnett), standing over the bathroom sink while brushing her teeth, a serious ask embedded in a moment of profound mundanity. She’s referring to their marriage, which, more than 20 years in and with two small children between them, has run its course. Tess, a former Olympic volleyball player, and Alex might not be unhappy with their marriage, but they’re certainly not happy in their…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
