Is This Thing On? (2025)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- As their marriage unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile, his wife Tess (Laura Dern) confronts sacrifices made for their family, forcing them to navigate co-parenting and identities.
- Actors:
- Will Arnett, Dylan Bickel, Laila Boccella, Jonathan Burke, Reggie Conquest, Bradley Cooper, Andra Day, Laura Dern, Christine Ebersole, Gabe Fazio, Seyler Fox, Callum G., Derek Gaines, Azalea Gray, Sean Hayes, Ciarán Hinds, Scott Icenogle, Jordan Jensen, Thomas E Johnson, Blake Kane
- Directors:
- Bradley Cooper
- Producers:
- Will Arnett, Bradley Cooper, Weston Middleton, Kris Thykier
- Writers:
- Will Arnett, John Bishop, Mark Chappell, Bradley Cooper
- Aka:
- Sin conexión
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama
More like Is This Thing On?
Reviews (1) of Is This Thing On?
Stand-Up Therapy, Sit-Down Ending - Is This Thing On? review by griggs
Alex is halfway out the door — a marriage wobbling, two kids in the middle, and nobody quite saying the quiet bit out loud. Then he stumbles into stand-up the way some people stumble into therapy: by accident, then out of necessity. The big question in Is This Thing On? isn’t “is he funny?” so much as “is he honest?” — and whether honesty onstage counts if you can’t manage it at home.
I also liked the place of it. The real streets and comedy clubs of New York City give the film a lived-in hum, and any film that swings by Grand Central Terminal is always going to get extra credit from me. Comfort-food geography for the cinephile brain.
Then Bradley Cooper turns up as “Balls” and, to my eyes, seems to be doing a Jason Mantzoukas impression — and I honestly can’t work out why, because the character adds little to the proceedings.
And yes, the couple end up back together again. Of course they do. It’s too likeable to do anything braver — thoughtful, but a bit too tidy.