Is This Thing On? is a dramedy that follows Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) as their 20 year-long marriage is gently unravelling. As they navigate this including co-parenting their two late primary school-age children, Alex stumbles into trying stand-up comedy and it becomes a form of therapy to process what he’s going through. Her story is the less prominent of the two, but Tess also grapples with this change including exploring what she’d like to do to redefine herself and embrace her new, different life.
I saw this film described in a review as a ‘rom com’ and whilst stand up comedy features prominently, I think I’d probably say it’s more drama than comedy. Funny in parts for sure but don’t go expecting to be laughing incessantly! 'Is This Thing On? is more subtle than that. I really, really enjoyed it!
Laura Dern is always excellent and when it comes to Will Arnett, I think I just found it refreshing to see him act again having most recently been primarily exposed to him by listening to the podcast he co-hosts. He’s a good actor and it was nice to be reminded of it having been put off him a little due to the extreme privileged white man vibes he gives off on the podcast. But, I digress!…
Is This Thing On? is good old fashioned story telling, I reckon. It’s based on the story of a UK comic John Bishop and I think it’s one of those situations where someone has an interesting story, that’s translated to the big screen so we can all enjoy it and enjoy it we do!
It’s directed by Bradley Cooper which explains the strangely small role he plays in the film which is at odds with how big a star he is!
It’s rated M, runs 121 minutes and opens in cinemas on 5 February. A 4 star review in The Guardian here if you’d like to read more. Trailer here.