Bradley Cooper’s third directing job puts Will Arnett on the mic tonight.
Will Arnett and Bradley Cooper have collaborated before in lesser known comedies like “The Comebacks” and “The Rocker,” which both helped make my youth so fun. “Is This Thing On,” their first collaboration in years, has them co-writing the screenplay with Arnett as the lead and Cooper as the director and co-star. And they both make a dream team on a different level.
They also collaborated with a British comedian named John Bishop, whom Arnett met in his travels. “Is This Thing On” is based on that man’s true story, and this provides Arnett with a game changing performance. Thus making it Cooper’s best directing job since “A Star is Born.”
In fact, I was just thinking: Cooper started off with a comedies like “Wedding Crashers” and “The Hangover” films, but the more serious roles he has taken on like “Limitless,” “Silver Linings Playbook” or “American Hustle,” the more we got to see him as an actor displaying the right range of genres. He proved himself to be a better actor than people have realized. Arnett provides some laughs, but he also provides humanity in himself in “Is This Thing On.” Mostly with a string of voice-acting (“The Lego Movie,” “Bojack Horseman,” etc.) and comedies (“Blades of Glory, “Semi Pro,” etc.), he could be a better actor than we realized. And maybe he already was, and we have faith in him.
As the film begins, Alex (Arnett) and his wife Tess (Laura Dern) are currently separated with them raising their sons on an alternating schedule and having get togethers with their friends (Cooper plays his struggling actor friend, Andra Day is his long suffering wife, and real life couple Sean Hayes and Scott Icenogle as newlyweds). One night, Alex wanders around New York City and wants a drink, but because it’s “Comedy Night,” there’s a $15 cover charge. Unless, he signs up to perform with the mic. At first, he seems to struggles, but he manages to push through and deliver the punchline. And through his combination of comedy and pathos, he talks and jokes about the sad state of his marriage.
It would be very common that a man who doesn’t expect for this to become a thing would end up taking the comedy seriously. And it is also common that he doesn’t want to tell his separated wife yet. As I’m watching “Is This Thing On,” I wonder if she caught him stage that she either wouldn’t approve of his act or actually relate to the humor he presents. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the case. Maybe it could be a chance for the two of them to reconnect, if only cynicism didn’t take over.
The world of stand-up comedy has helped shaped a number of comedians who have either risen to the top or are still trying to find their purpose in life. “Is This Thing On” works as both purpose and couples therapy in a sense. And Arnett and Dern both display that without jumping to conclusions or catering to certain movie-goers who are more into happy endings than originality. They might have a happy ending, but I can’t make any guarantees. In fact, I’m pretty sure they still have things to get through.
Cooper presents this film with courage and comedy, and he’s an actor who is no stranger to the genre. I like the way the film allows Alex’s sons (Blake Kane and Calvin Knegten) to be a part of a school cover version of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” And I admire how it allows the characters to use comedy to work their way through the pathos without seeming so desperate and trying to earn our approval. It doesn’t try so hard; it just uses honesty to speak into the mic and bring on the jokes.
In Select Theaters This Friday
