Is This Thing On?

Grade: C+

Laura Dern won an Oscar for playing a divorce lawyer in Marriage Story, and now the shoe is on another foot. In Is This Thing On?, she is the one in a disintegrating marriage. She is Tess, and Will Arnett plays her husband Alex. They engage in your standard bickering dialogue that you’re bound to find in films like Marriage Story, The Story of Us, and Kramer vs. Kramer – all of which I liked better. With Is This Thing On?, most of the meaning and substance is sucked out, but Dern and Arnett sure say a lot of words to each other.

The movie begins with Alex and Tess deciding to “call it” – i.e., begin their amicable split. They go to a dinner party, playing along like they’re still together, not ready to make their news public. When it’s over, they share a pot cookie before going their separate ways (Alex to his new apartment, Tess back home). Alone, a little high, and wanting a drink, Alex stops at the Olive Tree Cafe. At the door, he’s hit with a $15 cover charge, because it’s comedy night downstairs. However, he’s told he doesn’t have to pay if he signs up to be a comedian at the open mic.

I’ve grown to accept that chances are, more often than not, you’re not going to get a movie about a stand-up comic where their act is actually funny. I’m looking at you, Ezra and I Used to Be Funny. However, this is the arc in Is This Thing On? that I enjoyed the most. Alex came in as a newbie, literally off the street, and though he’s not funny on stage in the traditional sense, he uses these sets as free therapy. He keeps coming back to not only this club, but others, to hone his craft. Audiences grow to love him, he gets to sound off about his relationship situation, and he makes friends within the stand-up community. The delightful comedienne/writer Chloe Radcliffe – famous for having a large dark birthmark on her left cheek – is one of them. I liked every scene that had to do with the comedy aspect, and wanted more. The trailer was smart to focus on this piece.

Other elements don’t work as well. There’s an indie, freestyle vibe about it all. There’s very little score, and lots of moments where characters shout and talk over each other. Bradley Cooper is behind the camera, and in front of it. He directed himself in leading roles that got him acting nominations, with Maestro and A Star is Born. Here, he’s given himself a supporting character to play – a friend of the family who goes by the name of Balls. I’m not sure how necessary he is here, but he has some fun stuff. His wife Christine is played by Andra Day, from The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Cooper – seeming to think that viewers might want to see her sing again, regardless of whether it has anything to do with anything – stages a random impromptu “Amazing Grace” kitchen singalong while characters do dishes.

Alex keeps his newfound hobby a secret from everyone for a long time. A gigantic coincidence finds Tess out on a date night with another man at the comedy club, of all places, where guess what! Alex is there, doing a set all about his life and impending divorce. Arnett is one of the writers of this film, along with Cooper. Mainly known as the voice of Batman in several LEGO movies, he is very good as Alex. Dern is lovely and always elevates whatever she’s in.

I didn’t mind what happens at the end so much as how it happens. It feels contrivedly tacked on, with where they are, and what they’re doing when they make their decision. It’s an opportunity for a setup from earlier to get a callback. The movie emerges as aimless and hollow. This thing is on, but it’s not tuned to any particular station.

Grade: C+