Is This Thing On? (2025) Dir. Bradley Cooper

After an inevitable divorce starts and a marriage comes to an end. The life of Alex (Will Arnet) only just begins. After accidently being roped into doing standup comedy, Alex finds a real passion for it. At the same time his soon-to-be ex-wife Tess (Laura Dern) navigates life alone, trying to find out who she is and what she is passionate about.

As of late I have felt a bit iffy about Bradley Cooper as a filmmaker. It feels in recent years that he has been desperate for an Oscar. From his acting work on Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley to his work as a director on A Star Is Born and Maestro, he has been calling out to critics for praise. I was not a fan of Maestro at all, I felt it was very self-indulgent, pretentious, and downright boring. So, I was very cautious of Is This Thing On? When I arrived at the screening at the London Film Festival, I had no idea what to expect.

Is This Thing On? Is a big surprise. This film is a character study about so many topics such as divorce, relationships, and growing up. In many ways it can be seen as a coming-of-age film, even if the main characters are middle aged, there is something so universal about finding your passions and doing it no matter what people think.

This movie is everything Maestro wasn’t, it’s stripped back of all its bells and whistles and focuses on something much more personal. The complexities of human life and relationships. There is real heart in this screenplay, real profoundness that builds to a really heartwarming ending, that I found strangely life affirming. Even the camera work felt clever and so much more intimate than its predecessors.

The weight of this film is carried by none other than Will Arnet, of Bojack Horseman fame. Considering Arnet has mostly done voice acting until this point, I did not expect his screen presents to be so commanding. He really is the heart of this film, giving a performance that tell us all why he isn’t a perfect human. He provides sadness, happiness, and vulnerability to the role.

It should also be noted that I was shocked to find out that this film is loosely based on the life of English comedian John Bishop. Which in some ways is cool and interesting, but in others a bit odd. Cooper switched the Liverpool Scouser setting for an American New York City setting. In some ways the switch does make this movie more marketable and more universally accessible.

But I can’t help but wonder what this movie would have been like if it was made by a British director, and set in Liverpool, with a British cast. I believe this would have added a bit more personality and uniqueness to this project, seeing as we have had plenty of films about the American dream of making it in the big city.

This film is a fun watch, it perhaps won't get as much critical and award attention this time around for Bradley Cooper, but I for one enjoyed this film way more than Maestro. It’s full of funny moments, heartwarming scenes, and a sharp visual style at times.

★★★★

4 / 5

Jacob Holmes

Instagram: _jacob.holmes

Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/2vL6V