Is This Thing On? (dir. Bradley Cooper)

by Jack Martin | Jan 28, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 121 mins

UK Distributor: Searchlight Pictures

UK Release Date: 30 January 2026

WHO’S IN IS THIS THING ON?

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

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Bradley Cooper (director, writer, producer), Will Arnett (writer, producer), Mark Chappell (writer), Weston Middleton and Kris Thykier (producers), James Newberry (composer), Matthew Libatique (cinematographer), Charlie Greene (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A middle-aged divorcee (Arnett) dips his toes into the stand-up comedy scene…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON IS THIS THING ON?

Love is clearly a theme of choice for Bradley Cooper, whose three directorial outings thus far – A Star is Born, Maestro and now Is This Thing On? – have all been romances, albeit ones of various tones each time. The form of love in the latter film differs greatly from the tragic nature of A Star Is Born as well as the more artisanal biopic flavour of Maestro, with it being not just between a central couple with an unmistakable bond despite what they may tell themselves, but also between someone discovering a passion for something they never thought was even a possibility.

That makes Is This Thing On? a wonderful surprise from Cooper, more so than his other movies, as his naturalistic approach works wonders for a more grounded story about what it is to find and rediscover love, while also having a good old laugh about it all.

Cooper’s film begins with the revelation that married couple Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) have mutually decided to separate, with Alex moving to a small one-bed apartment while Tess stays in their suburban house to look after their two young sons. Despite the split, Alex and Tess remain fairly close to one another, though Alex is clearly going through a rough transition into singledom, which he suddenly finds an outlet for when he wanders into the stand-up comedy circuit, and expresses a keen interest in getting up on stage and translating his marital woes into humorous material. Tess, meanwhile, is juggling whether to return to her career in sports as a coach, having previously served on the US Olympics volleyball team, but her own regrets about making the decision to step away from her husband like she did from athleticism when she married him end up clouding her own assurances.

Both their worlds end up colliding in potentially cataclysmic fashion, though director Cooper avoids utter devastation by harmonising the arcs of his two central characters with a fair combination of humour and heart. As Arnett’s Alex progresses through the stand-up circuit, befriending many other comedians who are similarly struggling to find consistent work (many of whom are played by actual stand-ups from within the industry), you can feel his zest for life slowly returning to him as his newfound passion brings out the kind of man that Tess originally fell in love with. She, meanwhile, is struggling with what to do with herself now that she’s retained her single status yet is still seen as the primary caregiver to their sons in a life that already allows her little room to breathe. Both are drawn closer to one another, possibly more than during their happier days as a couple, thanks to their reconnection with their past selves, although there is concern that what they may still admire about one another has since eroded with age, and that who they may have been when they first started going out might not necessarily be who they are now.

Cooper, who along with Arnett and Mark Chappel also co-wrote the script – which, oddly enough, is loosely based on the early career of comedian John Bishop; they make up for the significant location change by placing Arnett in a Liverpool Football Club vest at one point – taps into the central rom-com elements with a refreshingly mature approach. Neither Alex nor Tess are presented as wholly right in their decisions but at the same time they’re also far from wrong, and the director explores their tender yet fragile connection that prompts a series of circumstances that allow them to talk things through via rational conversation, through a pleasingly naturalistic aesthetic where such conversations feel real and authentic, thanks to strong work by both Arnett and Dern as they convey the bubbling pressure within their characters to sort themselves out before giving each other a possible new chance.

Most of all, unlike other movies like Joker, Funny Cow and The King of Comedy, this is a film about stand-up comedians that isn’t a complete downer and is actually, well, funny. A good chunk of the humour comes from not the stand-up sets themselves – though there are certainly some great monologues and performances that earn plenty of laughs – but from how increasingly unnerved both protagonists find themselves to be as a result of their actions, and Cooper delivers sharp timing where the slightest infliction of voices can generate some form of laughter. Some of that actually comes from Cooper himself, as he also fills the supporting role of Alex’s constantly aloof actor friend Balls – and yes, that is how the character is credited – whose own problems with spouse Christine (Andra Day, who herself gets a few moments to shine) lead to moments of attention-grabbing slapstick that earn fine reactions.

While the film is funny, easily the most humorous of Cooper’s directorial career thus far, it is much more impactful as a love story, which as we’ve come to realise is the director’s specialty. Like his previous films, although not quite to the extent of A Star Is Born, Is This Thing On? revels in a genuinely charming romance where the spark between its two leads is more than apparent, and you enjoy going on this wacky journey with two characters whose love for one another is given the necessary kiss of life for them to grow closer than ever. That, in and of itself, is an achievement that’d be hard to truly joke about.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Is This Thing On? is filmmaker Bradley Cooper’s funniest film to date, while also being a legitimately sweet romance between Will Arnett and Laura Dern whose chemistry, along with their director’s naturalistic style, powers the slight yet identifiable narrative.