‘Is This Thing On?’ Review: Bradley Cooper Confirms Himself as a Director

We can now say it clearly: Bradley Cooper as a filmmaker is not a phase. His consolidation as a director within the Hollywood industry is not an experiment or a detour in the career of the acclaimed actor, but an absolute vocation, not so different from celebrated cases such as Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, or Warren Beatty. In this way, Is This Thing On?, a modern New York–set story of love and “divorce” with the world of stand-up comedy as its backdrop, becomes Cooper’s third film as a director—already carrying enough prestige to earn a spot as the closing film of last October’s New York Film Festival (where it received its world premiere) and to secure a theatrical run in U.S. cinemas starting in December, competing directly with many other Oscar contenders.

Bradley Cooper the actor is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and attractive faces the big screen has seen over the past two decades, leading films as diverse as The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, or American Sniper. But Cooper the director is a more intriguing figure: a talent who immediately seemed prepared to step behind the camera without excessive ostentation, yet with absolute confidence in knowing exactly what he was doing. And indeed, that appears to be the case when judging by his first two films: A Star Is Born and Maestro—ambitious works, large enough in scale to command attention (both received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture), while remaining human and intimate, told with subtlety and considerate toward the audience.

With this in mind, the romantic comedy co-written by Cooper alongside Will Arnett and Mark Chappell demands that expectations be tempered from the outset and presents itself as a much more modest proposal from the actor-turned-director since 2018—which is not a bad thing. It does not feel so much like a step backward, but rather like a settling in. A demonstration that he is betting on the long game, delivering a film carefully measured in time and budget to convince any Hollywood producer that they are dealing with a reliable and disciplined craftsman when needed. In other words, if the options are to become Clint Eastwood or Dennis Hopper, at this point it is clear which sensible path Cooper is choosing.

In any case, the intuitive process behind his work as a filmmaker has found romance as its main terrain, in much the same way that Eastwood’s body of work for many years became synonymous with the western. Cooper’s love stories have deepened to evolve into tales about the fractures and wonders of adult relationships. Three films in, the American director deeply understands how relationships evolve, end, and, on occasion, can even be rekindled when two people know each other very well. Cooper has portrayed love as a musical tragedy (A Star Is Born), as a symphonic drama (Maestro), and now it is the turn of comedy, filtered through stand-up, with Is This Thing On?

The Novaks have decided to put an end to their relationship after 26 years together, including their time as a married couple, two years of engagement, and three years of dating before that. Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) still do not speak directly about the word “divorce,” and there seems to be no rush to initiate the legal process. However, they have already told their friends and have found the right moment to tell their children, explaining why their lives will now be divided between two homes, as Alex has secured an apartment in the city while the family house remains upstate in New York.

The awkward opening gives us glimpses of this uncomfortable moment in their lives, with scenes that include a school performance inspired by the celebration of the Chinese New Year, a subsequent gathering with their closest friends, and the consumption of a marijuana-filled cookie that Tess has stolen and plans to share with Alex while accompanying her to wait for the train. Perhaps under the effects of what they consumed, Alex momentarily forgets that they are not going to the same place and boards the train with her, making the sadness hit twice as hard when he has to get off before it departs, left alone on the platform past midnight. As in every Cooper film, this one also features cinematography by Matthew Libatique (who splits his time as a trusted collaborator of Darren Aronofsky), and most of the time we are given close-ups that feel intimate and almost excessively personal even when faces do not fill the frame, along with a raw dynamism through handheld camera movement.

Interest in what is truly refreshing about this cinematic proposal begins when Alex wanders through the city and ends up entering a comedy club and, almost accidentally—simply to avoid paying the $15 cover charge—signs up for a stand-up comedy slot. This and many other scenes were filmed within the energizing environment of the Comedy Cellar and the real nightlife of Manhattan comedians, many of whom appear on screen, adding authenticity to the fiction. Once Alex takes the stage, he begins to talk about his life, more specifically about the bitter experiences related to the mutual agreement to divorce his still-beloved wife.

Our lost protagonist, polishing what may be the lowest point of his personal life, shows himself to be open, vulnerable, and occasionally funny—at least enough not to be booed by the audience and to earn some laughs of recognition. He also finds something that will help him get through this process. It may not be exactly an innate talent for comedy—like someone who is always “the finance guy” in any group of friends or family (we never see much of his day job, aside from the fact that he is always well dressed on his way to the office)—but he manages to come out more than fine. The scene is incredible because you have a real comedian like Arnett dialing down his abilities in service of the character, as someone who does not quite know what he is doing but discovers it along the way. Suddenly, very early on, Cooper delivers another miraculous scene in his new film, not unlike the “Shallow” scene (A Star Is Born) or the Cathedral scene (Maestro).

Another scene that also deals with performance as a way of receiving an epiphany. Now the craft is stand-up comedy, and the protagonist is not exactly an artist, but the goal is the same: to reach a fundamental truth from within, expressed to an audience through a transfiguring performance. One wonders whether lightning can strike the same place three times and still amaze us—but here we are.

Although stand-up comedy becomes a central part of the story, this is not Bradley Cooper’s Lenny. Keeping things slightly balanced, we get enough glimpses of Tess dealing with her near-divorce situation. She is a former Olympic volleyball player and is now beginning to consider returning to that world. However, Alex and Tess are not entirely ready to stay away from each other, and not always for circumstantial excuses: the children they are raising together, the same circle of friends they belong to, or the deep and close friendship Tess maintains with her mother-in-law (Christine Ebersole).

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Can the couple get back together? Will their individual passions help or damage that hope? Well, you have an entire movie ahead of you to answer exactly that. But you know the obligatory scene will arrive in which Tess accidentally attends one of Alex’s comedy routines, and that she will not laugh—at least not at first—at seeing her “misery” exposed as a joke. Cooper fills the Novak world with people, places, and moments that give us enough clues about how definitive (or not) their situation really is. Considering the participation of Ebersole, Ciaran Hinds, Andra Day, Sean Hayes, and Cooper himself in supporting roles, one wonders whether there is not another ensemble comedy buried beneath what is, essentially, a closed two-player game. And at times it is impossible not to wish for a less claustrophobic perspective, and one more generous toward the rest of the cast.

With intoxicating chemistry, Will Arnett and Laura Dern are splendid together in this kind of mature romantic comedy that never hits a false note. Arnett, in particular, is the great star here. He contains his comic talent, almost like a prodigy of unlearning in order to relearn, to portray an ordinary man who discovers a new passion for comedy while remaining deeply in love with his wife. And if there is another talent in the cast with any chance of receiving praise, it has to be Cooper himself in an ironic appearance as comic relief: a second-rate stage actor, always with his mind lost in getting high and absorbed by characters he occasionally plays as an understudy. It is almost a brilliant joke in itself that the dramatic actor gets the funniest role, while the comedian must carry the serious, restrained drama of the material.

A marriage in ruins, not yet desperate despite the mutually decided capitulation. New York as the best possible living stage to move through and restart life, passion, happiness, love. And the individual journeys of reconnecting with new or recovered vocations, which can lead someone to reconsider a happiness they believed lost or forbidden, and how those feelings can push them to seek a second chance in the same place without condemning it as a terrible mistake. Broadly speaking, this is how we can summarize a film that sounds conventional on paper—and to a certain extent it is—but that finds its own identity in relation to similar stories. With just the right dose of tears in the mix and a climax woven to the irresistible rhythm of Under Pressure (that magnificent duet between David Bowie and Freddie Mercury), Is This Thing On? may not be the funniest film of the year, but it is undoubtedly the most mature and sincere romantic comedy you will see this season.

Our rating of the film Is This Thing On?

= Good

Cast and Crew

• Is This Thing On? (2025)
• Directed by: Bradley Cooper
• Written by: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Mark Chappell
• Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten, Sean Hayes, Ciarán Hinds, among others
• Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
• Editio: Charlie Greene
• Music: James Newberry
• Running time: 121 minutes