“Is This Thing On” is a ‘midlife catharsis’ movie, says Cooper.
NEW YORK — Will Arnett is much funnier in real life.
Take it from Bradley Cooper, who directs the comedian in the sentimental new dramedy “Is This Thing On?” (in theaters Dec. 19). The film follows a finance guy named Alex (Arnett), who after splitting from his wife Tess (Laura Dern), stumbles into an unlikely hobby as a standup comic. It becomes a therapeutic exercise as Alex hops between Greenwich Village comedy clubs, venting about marriage, sex and family, but often struggling to land a punchline.
“It was quite an acting feat,” said Cooper, speaking to reporters after the movie’s first-ever screening at the New York Film Festival Oct. 10. “For him to play this character is so amusing. He’s still funny, but he’s not Will Arnett funny. It was a real testament that he was able to dive in and do that.”
The “midlife catharsis” movie, as Cooper describes it, was inspired by a true story and co-written with Arnett and their friend John Bishop. The film begins with Alex and Tess’ separation, and there’s very little explanation about why exactly they got to that point.
Reading the script, Dern says she admired the “unbelievable complexity of the relationship,” as the couple admits that “we don’t know how we got here. Most of us don’t in moments of despair.”
For Arnett, it was crucial to capture Alex’s evolution as a standup comedian. “He’s not the Michael Jordan of comedy,” the actor and host of “Smartless” says. “The first time he goes on stage, he’s never been in front of a mic before, and then you see him progressively get comfortable. There were moments that we shot where the joke was too good or too clean.”
The project was filmed around New York at locations that were personal to the cast and crew. The scenes with Alex and Tess’ sons, for instance, were shot at the same school Cooper’s 8-year-old daughter, Lea, attends. Cooper’s dogs also play the family pets: “They’re incredible,” he joked. “I’ll let them know when I get home that you gave a shout-out to Charlie and Lucy.”
The standup scenes were also filmed in real comedy clubs with real audience members. Many tourists in the crowd “had no idea who Will was,” Cooper said with a laugh.
“There were some great bombs,” Arnett added, recalling one particularly disastrous set while testing out Alex’s material in front of an actual audience. “The only people laughing were Bradley and our friend, Bob, in the back because I’m bombing and I cannot recover.”
“Is This Thing On?” is Cooper’s third film as a director, after 2018 music drama “A Star is Born” starring Lady Gaga and Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” in 2023. Both movies were nominated for multiple Oscars including best picture and featured Cooper in lead roles.
The actor, who has yet to be nominated for best director, has a small but scene-stealing part in “Is This Thing On?” as an eccentric pothead who confides in Alex about his own marital woes.
Asked what he learned about himself through making this movie, Cooper quipped that “cameras are heavy. I’ve always had a big butt and glutes, and thank God there’s finally a good reason for it. I used to feel ashamed about that.”
But in all seriousness, “I was surprised how at ease and relaxed I was doing this,” Cooper said. He credits that in part to Arnett and Dern, who have been “dear friends for decades. There’s that comfort level, when you come to work and you see this person that you’ve been through everything (with). These two people know every single thing that I’ve been through, and then to make art with them ‒ that’s what you dream of.”
“Is This Thing On?” was the closing night selection of the New York Film Festival, which welcomed megastars including Julia Roberts (“After the Hunt”), George Clooney (“Jay Kelly”) and Daniel Day-Lewis (“Anemone”) over the last two weeks.