Directed By Bradley Cooper

Starring – Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day

The Plot – As their marriage unravels, Alex (Arnett) faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile, his wife Tess (Dern) confronts sacrifices made for their family, forcing them to navigate co-parenting and new identities.

Rated R for adult language throughout, sexual references and some drug use.

IS THIS THING ON? | Official Trailer | Searchlight Pictures

POSITIVES

Like Cooper’s previous directing efforts, “Is This Thing On?” pertains to the immersive galvanizing of the stage, this time serving stand-up comedy as a means of therapeutic escapism for the turmoil and tribulations of an exhausted married life, and while the film is very much about the deterioration of the relationship between Alex and Tess, it’s anything but wallowing or atmospherically deprecating in its execution, instead opting for a refreshingly advantageous outlook on the state of contemporary relationships, which makes its script such an anxiously exciting journey to explore alongside these characters. As to where most movies pertaining to divorce would typically concern themselves alongside the singular perspective of a lone protagonist, Cooper spends ample time with both of these people, not only as a means of drawing out their respective humanities, in terms of what each are missing from the relationship and what they find within themselves, but also to drive the speculation of how it all went wrong between them, a refreshing enticement considering the film spends the entirety of its two hour duration inside of the present, instead of offering exposition-heavy flashbacks that attempt to convey their conflict as something evidentially obvious and effortlessly alleviating. The dialogue goes a long way towards reading the internalized and subconscious language of two people who have clearly spent far too much time alongside each other, with subtle hints of passive aggressiveness to draw out this tense and unrelenting anxiousness that Cooper’s direction revels eagerly within, alongside an overall presentation that enamors without distracting, similar to Cooper’s broad strokes during “Maestro”. The handheld cinematography Matthew Libatique offers inescapable transparency of the characters during their most vulnerable moments, especially those pertaining to Alex’s time on stage in front of a room of strangers revealing his most personally devastating of details from a life that is falling apart one piece at a time, with the patience of the editing lingering a bit longer than the preconceived expectations of conventionalized cuts, in order to maximize Alex’s awkwardness, and the jazz heavy score from James Newsberry sampling the same atmospheric complexities of something like “Birdman” or “One Battle After Another”, in which the strumming keys of a piano continuously grate at the tension conjured in every overwhelming moment, feeling like they’re building a powder keg of pressure to such an unpredictable protagonist, that could blow at any given second. The precise measurements to draw out this discomfort really proves how far that Cooper has come as a commanding storyteller in such a small amount of time, with great restrain in the exploits of his expression, in order to keep the attention where it’s firmly needed, and while Cooper’s most resounding impacts (At least to me) can be felt as a co-writer in the screenplay, between those affectionate but contested moments between the interactions between Alex and Tess, his immersive diagraming in the visuals take plenty of chances to vividly engage an audience as a fly on the wall sifting through so many unresolved issues, surmising not only what I truly feel is the measuring stick to Cooper’s work moving forward, but also some stunning performances from Will Arnett and Laura Dern that evoke such a compassionate element of empathy to such imperfect characters. Arnett easily gives the single best performance of his career as Alex, evoking a tepid tenderness and emasculating vulnerability that feels held together by proverbial strings that stitch his character’s sentimentality, and though Arnett’s growing confidence and candor evolve the longer that he spends within the confines of his expressive outlet, he never sacrifices the familiarity of his design, as this head of the household simultaneously attempting to keep the routine and normalcy of his life together with the secrecy of his newfound passion amidst the thrilling nightlife, allowing Arnett ample opportunity to showcase dramatic chops to otherwise thoroughly proven comedic timing. As for Dern, she stirs the closest to awards notoriety, most candidly with an unbridled rawness of energy, a thoroughly palpable unrelenting regret, and an unforeseen sexiness that sizzles a newfound identity of her own outside of the claustrophobic confines of what this deteriorating marriage requires her to be, evoking such a powerfully fiery and adventurous side to Dern that feels so unlike any other character in her storied career, all the while maximizing her potential while playing facially to the placement of the lens, at any given moment. Even Cooper himself saves a few moments for himself to dazzle on screen, injecting a much-needed levity to a drama that didn’t always generate laughter with the material of its stand-up, allowing for a much more relaxed and sillier side to Cooper than we’re typically privy to, even as his character only pops up every twenty-five minutes or so.

NEGATIVES

In terms of hinderances, the film does noticeably lose some steam of momentum in the expanse of its two hour runtime, particularly as a means of a repetitious structure that feels like it has exhausted audiences just as the third act climax is beginning to materialize. Call it a result of a seemingly aimless first half, or overlong sequences, or even the script’s aforementioned decision to evade any opportunity to travel to the past with these characters, but I found the pacing to lull noticeably in the moments when I should’ve been most excited about what the whole experience was continuously building towards, leaving another 35 minutes of the engagement at a time when the film felt like it was wrapping matters up, and while I wouldn’t downright omit any of the scenes included in the film, as it’s the whole journey that leads to who our characters are by the film’s ending, I do feel like the editing isn’t always working alongside the urgency of the conflict’s situation, where an hour and forty-five minute cut might help to maintain posture to those moments of the script that started to sag. The material also continues the time honored tradition of movies revolving around stand-up comedy undercooking the material of the gags executed on stage, leading to very few laughs during Arnett or his peers showcase, which still doesn’t feel like it captures the magnitude of when stand-up comedy is at its very best. Perhaps it’s a means of comedy being so subjective among differing audiences, but I found the periodic glimpses into the acts to be lacking any kind of creativity or personality among those executing it, a fact made all the more bewildering considering Cooper uses mostly real-life comics and cellars in his depiction, and considering I found the lives of Alex and Tess to be twice as funny, perhaps an intentional choice by Cooper to convey that nothing hits as hard as life, it left the on-stage material a bit stagnant and unengaging, requiring more out of Arnett’s demeanor to articulate Alex’s blossoming confidence as a captivating entertainer. Finally, while most of the performances lend themselves seamlessly to Cooper’s tender showcase, I was left with regret in the underutilizing of Andra Day’s character, a fact made all the more troubling considering she might just be the pound for pound best actor among this ensemble. Part of the problem certainly stems from an overall lack of opportunity, with Day’s screentime dwindling less than that of Cooper’s, but there’s such a one-dimensional outline towards her character’s bitchy personality that eventually becomes tedious to continuously experience, and considering Day is such a dramatic heavyweight of proven intensity, her casting left me dumbfounded with how much they waste away her endless potential, a fact made all the more glaring considering her longest scene pertains to her singing instead of acting.

OVERALL
“Is This Thing On?” is an achingly vulnerable and intimately thoughtful exploration on the deterioration of marriage and the expressive outlets necessary to ignite the spark to start anew once more. Led by earnestly wistful performances from Will Arnett and Laura Dern, as well as anxiously immersive production values to Bradley Cooper’s captivating direction, the film serves as a richly layered divorce drama that exploits catharsis by way of comedy, and even with a tedious two hour runtime eventually overstaying its welcome, on account of a repetitious outline, the film is still humble with humanity and heart, allowing it to perform impactfully when its lights shine the brightest.

My Grade: 8.2 or B+