Is This Thing On? review

IS THIS THING ON?: 

WILL ARNETT AND LAURA DERN DRAMEDY IS FILLED WITH LAUGHS AND FEELS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Will Arnett and Laura Dern in Is This Thing On?

 

            Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory, BoJack Horseman) plays a stand-up comedian in an awkward stage in his divorce to Laura Dern (Jurassic Park franchise, Little Women (2019), Jay Kelly) in Is This Thing On?, a new comedy-drama film directed by Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, A Star is Born (2018), Maestro) loosely based on the life of real-life comedian John Bishop. Yeah, I was onboard for this movie as I love both Arnett and Dern as well as Cooper whether he’s acting, directing, or both though it wasn’t something I absolutely needed to see immediately, but I was going to see it regardless. 

            Well, now that it’s been released widely, it was time to finally watch the Will Arnett and Laura Dern dramedy and…it’s very good! Do I consider one of the absolute best films from 2025? No, but I found it to be a very funny and touching movie and a lot of that comes down to Arnett and Dern’s chemistry, both of which are fantastic BTW. 

            The film follows Alex (Arnett) and Tess Novak (Dern), whose marriage quietly unravels with Alex facing middle age and an impending divorce from Tess thus seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for her family which forces them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form. 

             The film also stars Cooper as Alex’s best friend Balls, Andra Day (Cars 3, The United States VS Billie Holiday,Percy Jackson and the Olympians) as Balls’ wife Christine, Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy, Jennifer’s Body, Clerks III) as Kemp, Sean Hayes (Cats & Dogs 1 and 2, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, The Running Man (2025)) as Stephen, Christine Ebersole (Tootsie, Black Sheep, Licorice Pizza) as Alex’s mother Marilyn, Ciarán Hinds (Road to Perdition, Munich, There Will Be Blood) as Alex’s father Jan, Chloe Radcliffe as Nina, Peyton Manning as Laird, and James Tom (Our Flag Means Death) as Rolo. 

            Overall, Is This Thing On? is a solid comedy-drama that’s elevated by Arnett and Dern’s incredible onscreen chemistry and a beautiful albeit honest look at life and love without it ever becoming shmaltzy. As mentioned earlier, Will Arnett and Laura Dern are magnificent and what makes the film work because every scene involving them feels very genuine and natural whether they’re supporting each other, bickering, or falling in love again, I legitimately bought their chemistry here. 

            Will Arnett I’ve been a fan of since Blades of Glory in 2007 and over the years he’s given me several great comedic performances in both film and television, but his performance in this really showcases his dramatic capabilities even though he is telling a lot of stand-up jokes in the movie. Arnett is very believable as this man clearly going through a midlife crisis and trying to maintain a healthy relationship with his family and dealing with his divorce with Dern’s Tess. 

There is one particular scene when he’s doing his stand-up that was both funny and unsettling at the same time and if you’ve seen the film, you know what I’m talking about. He sells the emotional moments surprisingly well and I hope he follows in the footsteps of Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler as a promising comedic turned serious actor. 

            Laura Dern is also great as Tess and gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from her as a woman who gave up stardom as a professional volleyball player to raise a family and trying to reconcile who she is. I doubt she’ll be able to top Jessie Buckley’s performance from Hamnet, but I can definitely see her getting awards attention for her role in this. 

            Bradley Cooper’s performance was quite a shock because he’s almost unrecognizable as soon as you hear his Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy voice, but he has some consistently funny moments sprinkled throughout the film. Honestly, his best scene was an exchange between him and Arnett that had me laughing on the floor, not ruining it here because it was f*cking hilarious. 

            For the most part I was invested and captivated, but what keeps this film from being one of my all-time favorites from 2025 is the pacing is pretty slow at times. I’m not sure if the film was trying to be a slow burn and it’s just 2 hours and 4 minutes, but I did feel the length a few times though not to the point of boredom and Arnett and Dern’s performances did keep my interest even during its bumpy pacing. 

            Is This Thing On? is a funny and heartfelt depiction of life and love with stellar performances by Will Arnett and Laura Dern and passionate direction from Bradley Cooper. While I don’t think this film is quite as strong as Cooper’s adaptation of A Star is Born, this movie is certainly On and Running.