Cooper’s latest is a misfire
Maestro and A Star Is Born, both directed and co-written by actor Bradley Cooper, garnered multiple award nominations and wins. Cooper’s third writing/directing project, however, may not be so lucky. Is This Thing On? isn’t nearly as watchable as Cooper’s previous pictures, and proves itself the least interesting of his current filmmaking trio.
Starring Will Arnett (Arrested Development’s Gob) in a story loosely based on the British comedian John Bishop, Is This Thing On? follows Alex, a sad-sack finance guy who climbs out of a depression by dabbling in New York’s amateur stand-up comedy scene. Alex is depressed because his 26-year marriage to Tess (Laura Dern), a go-getter former Olympic volleyball player, has run its course. As the pair juggle co-parenting their two boys and managing post-married life, both begin to more closely process and examine their relationship and themselves.
The film has echoes of 2019’s Marriage Story, though it’s infinitely less wrenching and, as a result, infinitely less engrossing, bordering on stagnant at times. Cooper uses an odd tone throughout the picture, as if he can’t decide if the film should be funny or serious. He also casts himself in a bit part as Alex’s college buddy, the regrettably named Balls. Cooper seems to want to offer some comedic relief through this character, but most of his scenes feel forced.
As for his direction, Cooper films Arnett in grainy, dark close ups that may be intended to emphasize Alex’s moroseness, but instead feel stagy and off-putting. And as for the writing, Cooper peppers the screenplay (co-written with Arnett and Mark Chappell, See How They Run) with numerous cliches and coincidences, including one so obviously added for the sake of plot convenience that I literally rolled my eyes.
Perhaps the picture’s most egregious problem, though, is that we’re told Alex has been “the funniest guy since college,” but we never witness that hilarity. Alex’s so-called “comedy” is cringeworthy at best, and unfunny at worst. A slight saving grace is that Alex’s talent–or lack thereof–is at least truthfully recognized by his fellow comedians, who tell him he’s terrible. That makes for a nice change from a film like last year’s Ezra, which asks us to flat-out pretend that the main character is a laugh riot, when he most certainly is not.
Is This Thing On? improves a bit in its final quarter or so, thanks to a well-written, long overdue conversation between Tess and Alex that feels honest and consequential. The ending, too, nearly redeems the slow slog that precedes it by being thoughtful and smartly open-ended. Arnett and Dern share undeniable chemistry, and Dern, especially, turns in a strong, emotionally authentic performance that’s far better than the material deserves.
Brief cameos from the likes of Amy Sedaris, as a comedy club manager, and Peyton Manning, as an old friend of Tess’s, provide the film with a few genuine laughs. Unfortunately, though, they aren’t enough to salvage this otherwise lackluster picture.
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Is this Thing On? opens in limited release today at the AMC Metreon and the AMC Kabuki in San Francisco. It will open at the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley on January 9th.
