I listened to an episode of the SmartLess podcast on a recent road trip, which is hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, featuring Bradley Cooper. But it escaped me that Cooper was directing a film starring Arnett, where Hayes has a small supporting role. The story centers on a middle-aged man, Alex (Arnett), who’s facing a divorce after twenty-plus years of marriage. Feeling lost and desperately seeking a new purpose, he stumbled upon a comedy club that became a cathartic, life-changing experience.
The script written by Cooper, Arnett, and British screenwriter Mark Chappell is clever and humorous from the get-go. What really stands out to me is how raw and authentic the disintegrating marriage appears; you can truly sense Alex’s hopelessness as he sits there, lifeless, at a lively Chinese Lion Dance school event where his two boys are having a blast. The script goes beyond just Alex’s perspective to also feature his wife Tess (Laura Dern), who feels adrift since her identity has been so closely linked to raising a family after stepping away from her competitive volleyball career.
I really enjoy relationship dramas that dive deep into the connections, dynamics, and challenges people face, rather than just the light-hearted, surface-level content typical of most rom-coms. I also like that the main characters are not young; Arnett and Dern are in their mid-50s. Having been married for over 20 years, like Alex and Tess, I can totally relate to their struggles and the sense of not being in sync with your partner.
Arnett does a fantastic job in the role, truly capturing Alex’s heartbreak and journey of self-discovery. Honestly, I haven’t seen much of his work aside from him voicing LEGO Batman, so this is my first look at his dramatic side. Perhaps he drew from his own experience of going through a divorce with fellow comedian Amy Poehler, especially since they both co-parent two sons like his character. Alex may seem a bit lost and clueless, but he’s charming enough that you can’t help but cheer for him and wish he finds his way. His portrayal of a rookie stand-up comedian is both relatable and funny; you can really see his face light up more and more each time he visits the comedy club.
I later discovered that the story was inspired by John Bishop, a comedian from Liverpool who is one of the top names in the UK comedy scene, having sold out numerous National arena tours. After learning that, I recall seeing him on the Graham Norton show talking about how he got into comedy when his marriage fell apart. It seems Arnett met him at an event about ten years ago, where Bishop shared his story. I’m glad I didn’t know this before watching the film, or I would have been distracted, imagining how funny it would’ve been if Bishop had played himself in the movie.
Dern is a dependable and adaptable actress, so it’s no surprise that she’s good in this role, even though I didn’t connect with Tess as much as I expected. She seems a bit cold at times… when one of their boys wonders if Dad is okay, she brushes him off. Yet the moment when she watches Alex overshare about their relationship on stage is really touching. The two boys playing their kids, played by Blake Kane and Calvin Knegten, are pretty funny. Kids do say the darnest thing. I laughed hard when one of them said to Alex, ‘Dad, you need to have a plan.’
On the other hand, Cooper’s role as a clumsy, goofy, struggling actor doesn’t ring true; it comes off as somewhat cartoonish, much like how his marriage to Andra Day’s character is portrayed. At least he does a good job showing the close friendship between his character and Alex, the kind of bond where they can pick up on each other’s feelings without saying a word.
I love seeing Ciarán Hinds as Alex’s father, a warm-hearted Irish immigrant who fully supports Alex’s new passion for comedy. The casting is spot on since they look like a believable father-son duo, and their conversation after one of Alex’s stand-up performances is quite memorable, even if it’s a bit too short. Speaking of casting, it’s amusing to see Peyton Manning in a brief cameo as a sports coach (natch!) who’s friends with Tess.
I really commend Cooper for creating a film that’s both captivating and personal. This movie is a total shift from the visually grand Maestro. It’s more minimalistic, allowing the actors and the script to take center stage, with the storytelling serving as its own special effect. He teams up with Matthew Libatique again, who shot his last two films. It seems like he’s the go-to cinematographer for films set in New York City, and it’s easy to see why. NYC is portrayed in a vibrant, dramatic manner, and the close-ups of the characters add a lot of emotional depth.
This has become one of my favorite movies about marriage, the likes of Marriage Story, Past Lives, and Kramer vs Kramer, though that one is more of a divorce legal drama. It’s a realistic portrayal of marriage without sugarcoating its difficulties, yet it carries a refreshingly optimistic, even uplifting message. This movie would make an interesting double feature with the Anxiety Club documentary, which also deals with humor as a therapeutic outlet to get through a crisis.
I haven’t been anticipating Is This Thing On?, but it emerges as one of my favorites of the year. It truly solidifies Cooper’s chops as a director, and I believe this film deserves some recognition during award season.
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I’ll watch it when arrives on streaming as I still haven’t seen Maestro but I did like Cooper’s work for A Star is Born.
It’s amazing that all three of his films are wildly different in style and tone. I like this one more than Maestro but that one is visually amazing, a must-watch if you like Leonard Bernstein’s music.
Brad Cooper has pushed his acting range to the extreme, props for that. Maestro was descent, slightly condescending as Maestros like Bernstein tend to be. Terrific composer
Yeah I think Cooper captured the brilliance as well as arrogance of a gifted musical genius. I enjoyed it and the performances, esp. Carey Mulligan’s were amazing!
Another🔥Review, Ruth. This sounds likely a relatable dram-com with depth and heart; the best kind. Will Arnett’s face at the mic I noticed from the trailer as being brilliant and universal. The pain in his eyes. It’s neat these guys are all buds in real life. I def look forward to watching this one. Thanks for the stellar write up🎤🎭👏
Awww thank you! Appreciate you reading it. This one is such a pleasant surprise, I was expecting it to be a bit silly and frivolous, but it’s got such depth and heart. Yeah, their real-life friendship certainly help make their movie friendship believable. You should also check out John Bishop, the inspiration for the story, that guy is FUNNY!
I’ve never heard of this movie until I see your review here. I’m surprised that the studio isn’t heavily promoting this movie since it’s directed by Cooper. I know Arnett isn’t a well known actor but I thought with Cooper behind the cameras and appeared in the movie, they would market it better. I always like Arnett since I first saw him in Arrested Development. He never became a house hold name comedic stars like his peers around that time but I think he’s funny. I’m not sure about this movie though, it is not a subject that I’m interested in.
The distributor is Searchlight, which is considered an independent film company though it’s owned by Disney, so that might explain the lack of marketing budget. If you’re more familiar with Arnett, you might enjoy this one as he’s really good here. I’m impressed with Cooper who’s done three very different, good quality films.
You know, I actually went on YouTube and watched the trailer of this movie and I do remember it now. But the trailer didn’t gain any traction on social media, it only has like 4 million views on YouTube and I assume it didn’t get any attention other social channels. This is how studios measure on if/when to promote their movies. If the trailer gets tons of views on YouTube, they’ll spend money promoting it. Sadly, not too many people watched the trailer of this one and they kind of bury it. Maybe it will get a boost if the movie gets a lot of nominations.
Social media has changed how studios promote their films these days. Heck, even actors and actresses are having a hard time getting roles if they don’t have a lot of followers on their social pages.
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Fascinating review, Ruth.
That fact that you like this film so much gives me the impetus to watch it, when it comes around.
Unfortunately, I am not a Cooper fan. The only film I ever really liked him in was American Hustle.
It will be interesting to see if it does anything in award season!
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Y’know it’s funny, I used to not like Cooper either as an actor, never watched those Hangover movies and some others. But I think he’s a good director, love A Star Is Born and Maestro was good as well. American Hustle is great but more for Amy Adams and Christian Bale.
I recommend this for the realistic portrayal of marriage and divorce. It’s extra amusing to me as I love the real comedian the story is based on.
Thanks for your comment, dearest!! XOXOXO
Yes, those hangover movies are annoying, but I will check out this movie!. I should also check out the comedian it’s based on.
Funny, I wasn’t swung out about “A Star is Born”, but then again my fave version of it is not the 1954 version, or the 1976 version, but the 1980’s SCTV long skit version. Hilarious! John Candy plays the agent/manager.
Okay, I will check out this movie!
XOXOXO
There are a lot of videos of John Bishop on YouTube, even his Liverpool accent is hilarious!
Wow, now I gotta check out the 1980’s SCTV version of A Star Is Born, with John Candy no less! Thanks for the tip, I’ll see if it’s on YT!
Will check out John Bishop, for sure!
The SCTV Star Is Born is in 2 parts! I found it on Youtube. xxx
Yeah I started watching the first part, it’s hilarious!! 😀 Thanks for the tip! XOXOXO
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