LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 (UPI) — Is This Thing On?, in theaters Dec. 19, is a mature take on finding new interests later in life. Though made by very famous faces, it offers a refreshing take where the pursuit itself is the success.
Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) decide to divorce when their sons are 10. One night, Alex visits The Comedy Cellar in New York and puts his name on the list because he doesn’t have cash for the cover charge.
When they call his name, Alex takes the stage and improvises some actual jokes while being real. He likes it enough that he continues to do standup and makes friends with the other comedians.
Director Bradley Cooper never shows Alex at his day job, but he says it is in finance. He explicitly confirms he’s not quitting his career, but standup is more than just a hobby.
It is refreshing that the plot of Is This Thing On? is not about Alex becoming great and trying to get signed. That’s the Hollywood underdog version, but here it’s enough that Alex just wants to be good enough to keep doing it.
Bradley Cooper (L) directs and plays Alex’s (Will Arnett) friend in “Is This Thing On?,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
His routines are the observations of a divorcee with a day job. They are better than many open mic sets, but Alex is no George Carlin or Jerry Seinfeld.
His delivery is even awkward, but he gets there and it becomes endearing that he’s not such a smooth talker. It is admirable to see Alex take it more seriously, first rehearsing his set in the car and eventually keeping a folder of his notes.
Will Arnett and Laura Dern star in “Is This Thing On?,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
There is conflict for Alex’s new endeavor, mainly from his family. When he gets a last-minute slot, he has to find a babysitter for the kids because it’s his night with them.
Alex’s parents (Christine Ebersole, Ciaran Hinds) advise against standup for different reasons. His father thinks it’s a midlife crisis and his mother doesn’t want strangers laughing at him.
Will Arnett and Laura Dern play a divorcing couple in “Is This Thing On?,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
The kids don’t get it either, because of course jokes about adult relationships aren’t funny to them.
The viewer never got to see Alex before the divorce, but standup allows him to be vulnerable. It’s easy to imagine he was more repressed before discovering this outlet, though his friends say Alex was always the funny one so that’s a tad inconsistent.
Alex (Will Arnett) discovers standup comedy in “Is This Thing On?,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
When dealing with Alex and Tess’s relationship, the exes talk a lot about history the audience never saw. But, in catching up with these characters post-divorrce, the film offers a mature exploration of people who did not recognize their own feelings until it became untenable.
For Alex, standup comedy is a way to express them and be more honest with himself. Tess was an Olympic volleyball player who explores becoming a coach, but volleyball actually is not who she is now. When people celebrate her past they are ignoring her present as a proud mother.
The conclusions they come to may be a bit oversimplified, but the way they discuss their emotions without turning into screaming matches is constructive. Is This Thing On? is less about solving adult problems than it is about finding healthy outlets that will be useful throughout life.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
