Is This Thing On? (2025)

Is This Thing On? is the kind of comedy-drama that sneaks up on you: funny in the way real life is funny, and quietly devastating in the way real life can be, too. Bradley Cooper directs with a gentle, warm confidence, letting New York’s comedy-club glow and late-night awkwardness become the backdrop for a deeply human story about reinvention, co-parenting, and what happens when love stops working in its old shape. Will Arnett brings a bruised, self-deprecating charm that makes Alex’s midlife scramble oddly inspiring, while Laura Dern gives Tess a lived-in strength that turns every small moment into something intimate and true. It’s candid—strong language, sexual humor, and some brief nudity included—so it won’t be for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for grown-up laughs with an open-hearted aftertaste, this one lands.

Is This Thing On? is clearly aiming for a lived-in, grown-up look at divorce—using the New York stand-up scene as Alex’s shaky attempt at reinvention while Tess reckons with what she gave up. The problem is it often plays it safe: the comedy-club material and the relationship drama don’t always click together, and the pacing can feel long and a bit repetitive once it hits the home stretch. Will Arnett and Laura Dern bring professionalism and a few genuinely tender moments, but the central dynamics can lack that snap you want from a story this emotionally messy. If you’re expecting a sharp, laugh-out-loud comedy or a tightly wound romantic drama, this may feel uneven; if you’re okay with a slower, talkier, profanity-heavy character piece, you’ll likely find enough truth to make it worthwhile.