Is This Thing On? (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

Is This Thing On?

IS THIS THING ON? (2025)

Starring Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Scott Icenogle, Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen, Peyton Manning, Reggie Conquest, James Tom, Gabe Fazio, Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten, Derek Gaines, Matt Richards, Dylan Bickel, Laila Boccella, Jonathan Burke and Reggie Conquest.

Screenplay by Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett & Mark Chappell.

Directed by Bradley Cooper.

Distributed by Searchlight Pictures. 124 minutes. Rated R.

Screened at the 2025 Philadelphia Film Festival.

Will Arnett has been a Hollywood favorite, circling just outside of stardom for over two decades now. He first popped onto most people’s radar as Job Bluth, the black-sheep brother in the cult sitcom Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013, 2018-2019). Since then his career has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster – from working on such horrific films as Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro, to several TV series, particularly playing the title character in the cult-favorite animated series BoJack Horseman.

Still, Is This Thing On? is undoubtedly Arnett’s most important career opportunity since Arrested Development, and he makes the most of it.

Luckily, he had a friend who was interested in helping to share his artistic vision. That friend was actor Bradley Cooper, who was looking to make his third film as a director (following A Star is Born and Maestro). Cooper also contributed to the writing of the film and took a good-natured and kind of goofy supporting role in the film as one of Arnett’s friends.

If you were to watch the trailer of Is This Thing On? you’d likely believe that it is a film about the life of a standup comedian in small clubs. And that is there, definitely. But really, Is This Thing On? is a story of long-time marriage which has become rather stale and whether or not it can be saved once the couple decide to take a break from each other.

The separated couple at the center of this story are Alex and Tess Novak (Arnett and Laura Dern). He’s stuck in a dead-end job and has lost his passion for his work and his marriage. She is a former Olympic volleyball player who has been sort of drifting ever since an injury ended her athletic career.

She still loves Alex, sort of, but she doesn’t always like him. And with their children growing up and finding their own lives in athletics, she feels the need to reinvent herself, particularly when a job coaching women’s volleyball comes up. So she tells Alex she wants to split up.

Although Alex has long been unsatisfied in the relationship, he is still shocked that it is actually kind of over. Bereft and high on a pot brownie, he slips into a local comedy club. The only way to get out of paying the cover charge is to do an open mic set. He gets up and wings it and kind of bombs, but he actually enjoys the experience. He starts hanging out at the club, learning the tricks of the trade, putting together a decent enough act, and for the first time in years he feels like he is doing something new and interesting.

However, Tess is still a part of his life, due to co-parenting and times spent with their married (but similarly unhappy) friends (Andra Day and Bradley Cooper, Sean Hayes and Scott Icenogle.) And as both of them become more satisfied and comfortable with their outside lives, they both start to wonder if maybe they haven’t given up on each other too soon.

The most intriguing part of this film is the revelation of Arnett’s ability as a serious actor. Sure, there is a lot of funny stuff going on here, too, but the role of Alex takes on a dramatic heft which you do not expect from the guy behind so many bad old comic films.

Dern is also amazing in her role, but that is to be expected, she is always good. The rest of the troupe does fine work, too; it is particularly fun to see Cooper playing a dim-witted and kind of scruffy former pretty boy.

It turns out to be a surprisingly deep and funny look at midlife crises. Glad to say, Is This Thing On? is indeed on. 

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2025 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: December 18, 2025.