Marriage isn’t easy. Anybody can tell you that. Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On? fully understands this and then some. It has everything you would expect out of a modest adult drama about an aging couple splitting up; scenes circling the singular adventures of each person in the world of dating and newfound (or rekindled) passions, moments discussing their deeply personal troubles with an eccentric friend, and of course hiding, quite terribly, their true emotions from their children, friends, and family. Yet, the film manages to take all of those very familiar phenomena and elaborate on them with highly complex characters and a lived-in script.
Will Arnett and Laura Dern play Alex and Tess Novak, a married couple in their late forties, going through a divorce. They have two 10-year-old boys, two adorable dogs, and live just outside of New York City, seemingly possessing all of the trappings of a fulfilling life. Except neither is fulfilled, and thus, the grounds for their abrupt divorce.
Subsequent to attending a friend’s party and sharing a weed cookie with Tess the night they decided to make their split official, Alex is left wandering around the City. Unable to pay the $15 cover at a bar to grab a drink, he decided to sign up for the open mic and get in for free. He’s got no material, no plan, and he’s never told comedy before. With the exclusive Will Arnett energy that only he can bring to both a screen and a microphone, Alex, in between his pregnant pauses and empty stares to the floor, manages to spit out, “Hi, I’m getting a divorce, and it sucks.”
Fellow comics recognize his slight hilarity enough to make him want to come back and try it again. Alex uses the stage as the couch, the comedy club as his therapist’s office, and the microphone as an auditory journal, manifesting a journey of emotions that lasts the entirety of the film. The movie never forgets that the therapeutic act of his telling comedy is the focal point of Alex’s journey, either, which allows for growth both in character and in the tricks the movie is able to pull off in its later stages.
Tess, on the other hand, takes the split a bit more in stride. As expected of Dern, she plays Tess with prominence and poise, displaying a pitch-perfect counterpoint to Arnett’s Alex, making their crumbling relationship strikingly authentic. Between trading off watching the kids and being honest with herself about why she wants a divorce, Tess reengages with a former flame: volleyball. Back in her heyday, she was a highly accomplished player. But in order to pursue her now 25-year-long marriage and kids, she gave it up. Traversing through the complicated feelings of identity and regret, she takes the opportunity to immerse herself in it once more.
As both Tess and Alex become more engrossed in their new lives apart, they stumble upon a night in which they both have obligations; Alex to a comedy club that is letting him be part of their “official” lineup on a regular night and Tess to an old sports contact (played by the one and only Peyton Manning that is unfortunately a bit out of place in the mix of the movie) that could help her take the next step to getting back into volleyball. Things happen, and lo and behold, they end up at the same comedy bar. The movie takes a lively turn after this, constantly zagging on narrative tropes and emotional moments, for the better.
One of the most unique and fascinating aspects of the film comes from this very idea: both characters pursue individual interests when apart. This unlocks a specialized emotional depth to the film that continues to reveal itself and pay dividends long after the credits have rolled. Cooper’s ability to be so forthright, defenceless, and authentic in his movie-making is unmatched in Hollywood right now. Do marriages fall apart because of the perpetual need for synergy? Do participants in a marriage become so ingrained in striving for the other’s happiness that they forget to pursue their own? Big questions Cooper asks in a small movie.
Ironically, one of the best parts of Is This Thing On? comes from Cooper’s own character of Balls (yes, that’s his real name). A zany, almost-always high actor who is perhaps Cooper’s most meta character yet. An actor who is always changing his facial hair for a part, accepting the cycle of hope and hurt that acting brings (much like the marriage he is in). The subplot about him and his wife, Christine (Andra Day), diversifies the exploration of how Alex and Tess handle their marriage, offering a different viewpoint and energy that is refreshing.
For a movie revolving around stand-up comedy, and both the hilarity and heartbreak that life can deliver to you on any given day, the film is convincing during every sequence. From the small moments of trying to pretend they weren’t fighting when their kids asked to the grandiose impassioned moments of less-than-happy emotion, Is This Thing On? creates a world and story that I could’ve spent another two hours being a part of.
That’s not to say it’s the masterpiece that Cooper seems to be striving for. (Don’t worry, Maestro heads, I still think that movie is his near masterpiece.) The script can feel a bit shaggy at times, repeating plot points and emotional beats just for the sake of saying them. Some of the best moments, those Alex spends with his mom Marilyn (Christine Ebersole) and dad Jan (Ciarán Hinds), or those Tess spends vaguely explaining their situation to the kids, are cut short, dampening their resonance. But the forceful cast makes up for it in the punchy third-act moments.
Is This Thing On? reveals that a movie doesn’t have to be capital “B” Big in order to be, well, capital “B” Big. With the buy-in of a stellar cast, tremendous sound design, and coarse yet always-riveting camerawork from cinematographer Matthew Libatique, the film finds a way to be much more than the sum of its parts. I’ve continued to think about this film in the days since seeing it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you do too. It manages to surprise when you least expect it, kind of like life, marriage, and those we love.
Review Courtesy of Ethan Simmie
Feature Image Credit to Searchlight Pictures