I like to think I’m a funny guy.  That being said, I’ve never once considered going on stage on open mic night.  Not only do you need to be fearless, you have to get total strangers to laugh at your jokes while they’re busy getting drunk.  Maybe this is why the movie has a character everyone refers to as “Balls”.  You gotta have balls to be a performer, figuratively for ladies, of course.  And while the amateur stand-up comedian at the center of Is This Thing On? is both funny and ballsy, the movie isn’t the story of him becoming famous.  It’s about what drove him to write his name on the call sheet to begin with.

The movie has a terrific opening scene that speaks volumes with no dialog.  A bunch of excited kids watch a dancing tiger performance in a gymnasium.  Slumping in the back among the parents is Alex (Will Arnett), staring off into space oblivious to the din, as if someone told him a close family member died.  Fortunately for him, that’s not the case, but he is on the cusp of being separated from his wife and family.

Back home, Alex and his wife Tess get ready for bed.  Tess tells him that they should “call it”, which is her way of saying that it’s time for him to stop sleeping on the couch and move out.  While the two of them discuss the “now” of it, one of their sons emerges from his room and asks them if they’re fighting.  Alex and Tess insist they aren’t and nudge him back to bed.

Even if we didn’t know Alex was getting separated from Tess, we could tell that something wasn’t right just by looking at him.  He’s middle-aged, as evinced by the crows-feet around his eyes and bits of gray in his hair.  Alex sports a boring winter coat, walks with shuffle and looks tense.  Alex knows something is wrong with his life, but doesn’t know how to fix it or if he should even try.

One of Alex and Tess’ last commitments as a couple is a gathering at the apartment of Balls (Bradley Cooper) and Christine (Andra Day) in downtown New York.  Alex and Tess pretend to have a good time, praying nobody guesses that they’re on the outs.  Christine dislikes Alex for reasons unknown, but he and Balls are old friends.  Balls seems to be stoned, which I assumed makes it tough for him to be steadily employed as an actor.

After the party Alex walks off alone in search of a drink.  The closest bar has a $15 cover.  Alex is incredulous, then he sees a young woman walk in without paying up.  The doorman explains that she put her name on the list.  If you get up on stage, no cover.  Hmm.  Alex puts his name down and sits at the bar.

When Alex’s name is called, he goes up on stage and gets his bearings.  Then he cracks a joke about realizing he’s getting a divorce, which elicits modest laughter.  Alex offers up a few more funny observations about his newfound status and gets laughs.  When his five minutes are up, he leaves the stage to applause.  Amazing.

A fellow comedian tells Alex where the other comics are hanging out and Alex joins them.  This is the happiest he’s looked in the movie so far.  Alex is humble about how he did, but he’s clearly energized by this experience.  As we later learn, Alex has always been a funny guy, so him finding success as a comic isn’t a surprise.  The question is why is he turning to stand-up at this point in his life.

One reason is that Alex is now living alone in a spartan apartment.  He’s got time to pursue something he’s always wanted to do, but pushed aside to be a family man.  Another reason is that even though stand-up is daunting, it’s a “safe space” (as a fellow comic describes it).  You can say whatever you want because you’re talking to strangers.  For Alex, it’s therapy, where he can explore his feelings and see how the audience reacts.  If he makes them laugh, that means they can relate to his situation.  He may be suffering, but at least he’s not enduring it alone.

The more stand-up Alex does, the better he gets.  He also looks better than when we first saw him.  He wears a fashionable coat, walks with purpose and smiles.  Tess notices and feels attracted to him again.  Her and Alex coming full circle is definitely on the horizon, but in the meantime she explores coaching volleyball.  (She competed for Team USA back in the day.)  The gentleman recruiting her is a world-famous athlete, and I won’t give away the surprise here, but I laughed when I recognized him.

Tess’ recruitment meeting turns into one of those incredible coincidences that happens only in the movies.  (My viewing partner whispered:  “In all the comedy clubs in New York city…”).  Regardless, it forces Tess and Alex to see each other differently for the first time in years.  Things take a turn, then another turn, all fueled by open and honest conversation.  The movie culminates with an ending that maybe is predictable, but also gratifying for the maturity shown towards the characters–and the audience.

Recommendation

Comedians will be the first to tell you that they’re a sad and lonely bunch.  This is the launching point for Is This Thing On?, a dramedy about a recently-separated middle-aged man named Alex (Will Arnett) who turns to stand-up comedy for sympathy and camaraderie.  He mines his emotional turmoil for laughs and discovers he’s actually good at it.  Laughter becomes the antidote for their depression; the more he gets, the better he feels.

While the movie is about Alex’s therapeutic journey as a stand-up comic, it’s about the importance of finding something that excites you outside of your daily grind.  For Alex, the answer is stand-up comedy, which jump-starts his languishing creativity.  Through him, the movie advocates for making time for yourself so that you don’t lose what makes you you, and it’s a message that resonated with this middle-aged family man.

The biggest surprise of Is This Thing On? is how good Will Arnett is in a dramatic role.  He’s known for playing obtuse clowns with a touch of vulnerability.  (See: Lego Batman, BoJack Horsman, Gob Bluth.)  In a role-reversal, this movie has Arnett be vulnerable first and funny second.  His performance here could (and should) result in a complete reappraisal of his acting abilities, because he’s very sympathetic here.  

Writer-director Bradley Cooper certainly deserves some credit for Arnett’s affecting performance, because he saw something in him that nobody else did.  Cooper notably returns to the stripped-down and personal style that he brought to A Star is Born.  (The overwrought formalism that consumed his Maestro has apparently been exorcised.)  Cooper is drawn to the electricity of human interactions, whether it’s between two people or a performer and their audience.  In terms of the latter, he’s so adept at capturing performances in various settings, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t try his hand at a concert film some day.

Laura Dern has been a fearless actress throughout her career, known for taking on difficult roles that challenge our notions of how women should be portrayed on screen.  As Alex’s wife Tess, Dern has the tough assignment of playing a character that we shouldn’t like but is impossible not to.  The key to Dern’s performance is how she makes Tess’ competitive nature her dominant personality trait, which then informs decision-making.  Dern’s a skilled actor who excels in portraying conflicted people like Tess, a character who’s convinced she did the right thing, only to have second thoughts.  It’s an amazingly subtle and complex performance that had me reassessing the character every time she’s on screen.

In the supporting cast, I liked Andra Day’s snarky turn as Dern’s best friend Christine.  (She was nominated for an Academy Award in 2021.)  Ciarán Hinds is reliably charming in another aged father role (see: Belfast).  Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen, James Tom and Reggie Conquest are all pitch-perfect as Alex’s fellow comics who bring him out of his shell.  Interestingly, the movie’s only incongruous performance is Cooper as Christine’s goofy husband Balls, which is distractingly self-indulgent.

Stand-up comedy is one-man’s idea of therapy in Is This Thing On?, a movie that speaks to the importance of holding onto what you love even as responsibilities mount.  Will Arnett gives a career-defining performance in this funny and heartfelt movie about overwhelmed, middle-aged adults.  Highly Recommended.

Analysis

Bradley Cooper’s pet themes

Now that he’s directed three feature films, Bradley Cooper’s interests and sensibilities are becoming clearer.  All three films have focused on performers.  A Star is Born was about the rise and fall of country singer Jackson Maine.  Maestro gave us the life and career of conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein.  Is This Thing On? has Alex Novak delving into the world of stand-up comedy.  As an actor in both film and stage productions, Cooper is acutely aware of what the life of a performer is like and sees his films as a way of exploring that experience in different contexts.

Cooper’s films make a point of showing the good and the bad of being a performer.  Jackson was happy when Ally (Lady Gaga) found success while under his wing, but became depressed when her stardom eclipsed his.  Bernstein achieved world-wide acclaim in two fields, but chafed at being asked to choose between them, as well as living as a closeted gay man throughout his life.  Alex’s success as a comedian results in him accidentally revealing intimate details about his personal life to his soon-to-be ex-wife.  In Cooper’s eyes, performers experience adrenaline-rush highs and equally devastating lows.  They may lead a privileged life, but setbacks impact them as much as your average person.

Another common subtext in Cooper’s films is how performers are strange.  Jackson rose to fame by emulating his older brother’s deep voice.  Bernstein was a homosexual who married, fathered children, and wantonly engaged in extramarital affairs with no regard for his wife’s feelings.  Cooper’s character Balls in Is This Thing On? is an actor who’s always stoned and fascinated by his own facial hair.  Performers are people who, whether by circumstance or necessity, live lives that ordinary people can’t relate to.

Regarding the positive aspects of being a performer, all three of Cooper’s films show how performers are happiest when they’re performing.  Jackson’s musical career comes alive with Ally at his side on stage.  Cooper spent six years learning how to be a conductor for a six-minute scene in Maestro, the moment when Bernstein is overjoyed at what is the pinnacle of his career.  Before doing stand-up, Alex’s life was in the doldrums.  He gets his mojo back when he goes on stage and gets applause.  The same can also be said about Tess, who hated having to retire from sports in order to raise a family, only to find new life in the opportunity to coach.  Performing is a drug that electrifies performers, who keep chasing that high.

Bradley Cooper, the director

The most remarkable thing about Cooper’s direction of Is This Thing On? is how it indirectly informed my perception of Maestro.  Although I appreciated Cooper’s formalistic opulence for what it was, I found Cooper’s entire approach to his subject to be ridiculous.  This problem was pervasive in the movie’s first half, which contains beautiful black-and-white cinematography but is marred by Cooper’s strange decisions surrounding blocking and framing.  In scene after scene, I kept trying to figure out why Cooper was doing what he was doing, only to come up empty.  Was he merely showing off, or did his choices imply a larger meaning that escaped me?

Interestingly, Is This Thing On? has none of what Cooper did in Maestro.  In fact, Cooper’s direction of the former is very much in the same vein as A Star is Born.  This led me to believe that perhaps what Cooper’s direction in Maestro was intended to symbolically represent Bernstein’s unconventional genius through camera placement.  Maybe Cooper wanted his biopic to reflect how Bernstein’s personal and artistic life were outside of societal norms, and that both were a reflection of his conflicted personality.  

If that was Cooper’s intent, I’m glad I finally understand what he was after.  However, I still feel the film’s obvious directorial excesses work against whatever emotional impact the film tried to convey.  I know my negative overall opinion of Maestro is in the minority, but I can’t reward Cooper for his eccentric choices if they failed to move me.  Cooper certainly was audacious, but his audacity got in the way of telling his story in a compelling way.  The artistic failure of Maestro becomes even more conspicuous with Is This Thing On?, a return-to-form (or back-to-basics) film for Cooper that succeeds because his direction is in service of the characters, and not the other way around.

Seeing one’s self on screen

I usually never do this, but I looked up the ages of Will Arnett and Laura Dern before seeing this movie.  I suspected that they were both in their mid-fifties and was correct:  Arnett being 55 and Dern 58.  With that in mind, I realized that Is This Thing On? is one of the few films–maybe the only film–I’ve seen where I have much in common with the characters.  Like Alex and Tess, I’m middle-aged, married and have a family.  Thankfully, a separation is not on the horizon.  My point is that I can’t recall the last time I saw a movie that specifically targets my age group.

As I mentioned above, I really connected with the movie’s emphasis on the importance of setting aside time for something you enjoy.  This was the reason why I started this blog years ago.  It’s a hobby that’s entirely for my benefit.  Like Alex’s stand-up, writing gives me a break from my day-to-day family responsibilities, engages my creativity and excites me when it turns out well.  The movie says that being a little selfish with your time keeps you from falling into the trap that ensnared Alex and Tess, where they believed the other was the source of their unhappiness.  As it turned out, all they needed was some “me time”.

Divorce is no longer profitable

In many ways, Is This Thing On? is a cinematic rarity.  It’s a mature film about marriage, family and divorce, a premise that Hollywood doesn’t focus on as often as it used to.  Netflix’s Marriage Story (2019), which came out seven years ago.  Manchester by the Sea (2016) was profitable  and won academy awards.  The first film about divorce I remember seeing was Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) when I was only a child and really didn’t get the nuances of what was going on.  My point is that dramas like this have been reliable box office draws, but Hollywood has largely decided not to make them anymore.

Art as therapy

Is This Thing On? is acutely aware that being an artist is about self-discovery.  Alex dives into stand-up comedy for several reasons.  First, it’s a creative outlet for his natural sense of humor.  As Balls reminds him, he always was a funny guy, but he put that part of his life on hold when he and Tess started a family.  When Alex decides to scratch that itch, he finds that he’s not only good at it, it makes him happy.  The response from the audience energizes him in a way that he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Second, performing stand-up is a way for Alex to work through his feelings about his separation.  Instead of sitting in his empty apartment at night, he seeks out human connections with an audience and his fellow comedians.  When people laugh at his anecdotes, it confirms that others feel the same way as he does.  It’s therapy under a spotlight, where sympathy and compassion come in the form of laughs. 

Finally, it opens the door for Alex and Tess to have an honest conversation about their marriage.  The two weren’t open with each other about their feelings before the separation, but when Tess sees Alex on stage talking about his sex life, it changes their dynamic.  Tess is drawn to his confidence, and their rekindled feelings for each other result in both taking a hard look at why they became separated in the first place.  Thankfully, there’s no up-charge for couples therapy.