Is This Thing On? (M) – 121 minutes

Why and when do marriages turn sour?

A couple of broad questions, I know, but ones picked apart in Bradley Cooper’s third directorial film (which he also co-wrote and in which he features).

The other two he directed are A Star is Born and Maestro.

Is This Thing On? starts with the words “We need to call it, right?” “I think so, too.”

That effectively brings down the curtain on a relationship that has run for 26 years, or does it? 

Alex and Tess Novak (Will Arnett and Laura Dern) met that long ago. They dated for three years, were engaged for two and have been married for two decades.

And now they are separating – without histrionics.

So, it is that Alex moves into a lonely bachelor pad, while Tess stays with their two 10-year-old boys in the family home.

Still, Alex, who has a good relationship with his young sons, gets to see them regularly.

The pivot around which this movie moves is Alex’s decision – tentative at first – to try his hand at stand-up comedy.

It happens when he spots a club and doesn’t want to pay the $15 cover charge, so is told at the door that it can be waived if he does a five-minute set.

Not knowing what to say when he gets on stage, he keeps it real and talks about his marriage breakdown.

Strangely, he finds it energises him and he keeps going back to the well, with ever growing confidence.

Then, one day his separated wife walks into a venue where he is about to appear, unaware of Alex’s new gig, while Alex is oblivious that Tess is there.

It becomes a launching pad for a reconnection between the pair.

Tess, too, has decided to make a change in her life. The former US volleyballer wants to get back into the game, this time as a coach.

Around them, their best friends’ marriage also appears to be on life support. 

I speak of Christine (Andra Day) and her actor husband Balls (Bradley Cooper).

Is This Thing On? was loosely inspired by an experience British comedian John Bishop had when he was separated from his wife in the year 2000.

That is when salesman Bishop decided to take part in an open-mic one evening.

And, “yes”, Bishop’s wife, Melanie, did later attend one of his shows without knowing he was performing.

It is a story Bishop relayed to Will Arnett, who went on to write the screenplay, this time set in New York, alongside Bradley Cooper and Mark Chappell. 

Is This Thing On? takes a while to gain traction, but it does succeed in doing so.

The initial awkwardness in Alex’s situation and in how that is delivered cinematically, which I presume was deliberate, gives way to a more conventional narrative.

For Alex, his stand up is a form of therapy and catharsis.

During the film, both he and Tess get to express their frustrations and desires.

Arnett comes across as authentic, as Alex stumbles his way through as best he can.

Dern, ever the consummate professional, is equally impressive as a woman whose identity took a hit. Life didn’t play out as Tess might have anticipated it would.

A heavily bearded Bradley Cooper has a bit of fun as a B-grade actor trying to make it, while Andra Day channels pent-up energy as the decidedly angry Christine.

I also quite liked the roles given to Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex’s mother and father, Marilyn and Jan.

Marilyn is not exactly empathetic, while Jan is far more in tune with his son. There is a rawness about the way these characters are played.

While you could argue that the Hollywood treatment of Is This Thing On? is a bit sickly sweet, the film raises important issues about connection.

So, it is that the movie is well worth a watch.

Rated M, it scores a 7½ out of 10.