'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQH/8QAIBAAAgEDBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIABAURAwchURMxgf/EABUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAED/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAER/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDOC1qbbp6nxO1y06kjPoKMr8wQR2c9SVbyGUElueYiVlOP/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The first look at Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On? has finally arrived, and it’s already sparking buzz. The film marks Cooper’s third directorial venture after A Star Is Born and Maestro, this time stepping into the world of stand-up comedy with a deeply personal edge.
Fronted by Will Arnett as a man rediscovering himself through late-in-life reinvention, blindsided by divorce, who stumbles into stand-up comedy as a way of piecing his life back together. Joining him is Laura Dern as his estranged wife, who calls the role a radically different performance.
Talking about the film, Cooper tells Vanity Fair,
“This movie is not a midlife crisis—it’s a midlife catharsis. Sometimes you realize you’re coasting and you’ve lost your rudder and your North Star in life, and that takes a toll on whoever is in your orbit.”
Shot with handheld intimacy by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, and with Cooper himself stepping behind the camera as operator, the film immerses viewers directly into cramped comedy clubs and tense domestic spaces alike. It premieres as the closing selection of the New York Film Festival in October before its Searchlight release on December 19.
More details about Is This Thing On?
Is This Thing On? arrived in the form of a script loosely inspired by British comic John Bishop, who himself turned to comedy after a marital breakdown. Arnett and writing partner Mark Chappell crafted an early draft, which Cooper encountered while still deep in Maestro. The timing was perfect: Cooper, who has built his filmmaking reputation on authenticity and rigor, saw an opportunity to explore vulnerability not through meteoric stardom but through the fragile, uneven rhythms of a man rediscovering his voice.
Joining Arnett in Is This Thing On? is a cast that consists of Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Amy Sedaris, Ciarán Hinds, and Chloe Radcliffe.
The American Sniper actor also has a role as Arnett's best friend in the film, as he talks about what lens he was going for for the film, and adds,
“I think that something interesting that I wanted to explore is that this guy’s able to be honest with a room full of strangers in a way that he wasn’t able to be before.”
To capture that truth, Arnett did something extraordinary: he became a stand-up. For six weeks straight, he performed four to five nights a week in New York clubs, living out both the thrill of killing onstage and the despair of bombing. Even though Cooper says Arnett crushed in, the latter adds,
Trending
“Not only is nobody laughing, but people have a look of disdain on their face and there’s nowhere for me to hide. You can’t even imagine how vulnerable you feel in that moment.”
Is This Thing On? will premiere on October 10, 2025.
Love movies? Try our Box Office Game and Movie Grid Game to test your film knowledge and have some fun!
Reply
