Is This Thing On Movie Review

​Bradley Cooper knows a lot about relationships and does an outstanding job of putting them on the screen for us. With his insightful directorial debut, he gave us “A Star is Born, followed up with “Maestro,” and now he arises triumphantly with his third film, “Is This Thing On.”

Surprisingly, the movie wastes no time telling you where Tess (Dern) and Alex (Arnett) are in their relationship. From practically the moment the movie starts, Tess asks if he feels that they need “to call it.” She clearly feels that way. It’s the end of the love between them. It’s curtains on a marriage and parents living under the same roof at the same time with their two young sons. He gets an apartment but does miss his family. He goes to a watering hole to drink his troubles away, but there’s a charge at the door. What’s this? In he goes when he finds out the reason there’s a cover charge is that it’s “Open Mic Night.”

Open mic means that people have signed up to perform, in this case, stand-up comedy. They do this to test out new material or to see if they have what it takes to make it in the business. Alex is intrigued and ends up on stage. When he introduces himself, he uses the problems in his love life and with his family as material. The audience, who loves an underdog, is immediately on his side.

Some signs prove to Tess she’s already seen as the boring parent. Things purchased for the boys make him more fun, and as far as aging, men get hotter with age while women are just “playing with house money” when it comes to that. She’s happy he gives them a good life, but what happened to them? She permits herself to do more with her life and is considering coaching volleyball, her sport as she used to play in college and at the Olympic level. A montage of their new lives happens around here. I like a good montage, and this isn’t bad. Alex has been doing this for a while, has proven himself, and the manager, played by hilarious Amy Sedaris, gives him his own time slot.

She’s out with a friend (I won’t ruin who plays this character, but he’s GREAT in the role) who can maybe help with coaching and since they’re both single, they go to… where? Of course, open mic night. She’s jealous that he seems happy without her, and she’s hurt because he’s using their relationship as material. But you write what you know, so she has to relax. Then again, relaxing is not what she knows how to do. Their marriage isn’t working for a reason. They don’t really get along or do much together. He gets her a gift that anyone would have loved to receive. She, for some reason, takes offense to it.

You have to find someone you can be “unhappy with.” Is a great line in the film. There’s a lot of good writing, and there are moments of sweet, sensitive, kind-hearted humor. The film is loosely based on the comedian John Bishop’s experiences, so it works. He has to go through some sh*t to find himself again. Bradley Cooper plays a fun role and does it well. I do think there are moments when the film is too long for its own good, but overall, you’re going to like the characters and what they’re going through. Life isn’t easy, maybe comedy can help us get through it; every one of us in the audience. I loved and appreciated the honesty in this film. It was comical and rather sincere. The performances are wonderfully controlled, and the actors show their gifts for both comedy and drama. This is insightful, well structured… Cooper has a real winner here. One for you to see. Don’t hesitate.