"IS THIS THING ON?" - MINI-REVIEW
Director Bradley Cooper is 3 for 3, following up A STAR IS BORN and MAESTRO with a honest but nimble sleeper, providing Will Arnett his strongest showcase to date (seriously, who knew?!) as a man turning to open mic stand-up comedy as a means of processing his dormant marriage. To be a funnyman and to have to play a man who isn't one and has to find his comedic voice is harder than it seems, and Arnett nails it. He also shares an incredible partnership and easy chemistry with Laura Dern as his partner, and this is one her very best roles/performances.
As for Cooper, he gives himself a supporting role and steals every scene he's in (his character's name is too funny to spoil here). Loosely based on an event in John Bishop's life, Cooper co-wrote the screenplay with Arnett and Mark Chappell that feels shaggy but is surprisingly complex and moment-to-moment unpredictable. It feels like an adult drama from the 90s or early 2000s in the best way. Cooper directs it all, after the formal bombast of his last film, as a man with nothing more to prove, and this is his most relaxed, relatable and best movie to date.
IS THIS THING ON? is in theaters Friday, December 19.
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