Is This Thing On? is in UK cinemas from January 30th, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.
Synopsis
Facing middle age and an impending divorce, Alex Novak finds new purpose in the New York comedy scene, while his wife, Tess, confronts the sacrifices she made for their family.
Review
The story behind this film’s inception is a perplexing one, to say the least. The fact that Bradley Cooper wanted to make a comedy-drama about the life of British comedian John Bishop, of all people, will forever be a headscratcher. Yet, it is a choice we can be grateful for, because Is This Thing On? is a truly brilliant film that doesn’t disappoint.
Despite a change in character names and location, moving from Liverpool to New York, the story presented here remains faithful to Bishop’s own life. Will Arnett, who also co-wrote the film, does a fantastic job of making the character of Alex his own while picking up on Bishop’s idiosyncrasies, such as his rather sarcastic and dry joke delivery.
On top of that, Arnett has genuinely brilliant chemistry with Laura Dern, who plays his ex-wife Tess. When the film focuses on just these two in the same room, what plays out are some of the most open and strangely romantic moments I’ve seen in a film for quite some time. They both work wonders as they bounce off of each other and thrive off one another’s honesty, which is refreshing to see in a film such as this, compared to others in the genre where these scenes would usually lead to overblown arguments for the sake of heightening the drama.
Even Cooper’s direction is noticeably more restrained here than it was in his last outing, Maestro, which was a visually bold and extravagant piece of filmmaking. Is This Thing On? adopts a more intimate and grounded approach to its cinematic style, leaning into handheld camerawork and close-ups that can appear quite uncomfortable during Alex’s stand-up routines. These choices add to the reality of its subject, always remembering that the characters are what’s most important here, not the aesthetic.
The balancing act of humour and seriousness is also executed really well. Whereas many comedy-dramas tend to spend an entire sequence sacrificing one for the other, Is This Thing On?, due to the nature of its real-life story, seamlessly blends the two elements in a very natural manner by letting Alex’s thoughts and feelings fuel the comedy routines he grows more comfortable in doing over the course of the film. This does lead to an awkwardly tense scene where Tess attends a show where Alex is on the line-up, something that Bishop himself admits actually happened, which perfectly brings all of the film’s emotions to a boiling point that, again, feels naturally earned rather than being forced into the story just for the sake of it.
Admittedly, the film can take a moment or two to truly find its groove as it spends its opening minutes essentially meandering and establishing Tess and Alex’s relationship before they properly split. However, once the wheels are put in motion and Alex explores his new life as a stand-up comedian, the film becomes endlessly captivating from there and gets better with every scene.
Bradley Cooper and co. have crafted a hilarious and heartfelt film that effortlessly explores the highs and lows which come from finding a new lease of life within a relationship. Though the direction and writing are both on top form, the real stars of the show here are the performances, which are great across the board.
Verdict
Is This Thing On? is a beautifully honest mix of comedy and marital drama that never veers into melodramatic territory, instead keeping its characters and emotions as genuine as possible.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
