R | 2h 1m | Comedy, Drama | 2025
“Is This Thing On?” begins with a matter-of-fact exchange between husband and wife while they brush their teeth one night.
“We need to call it,” says Tess (Laura Dern). “I think so too,” agrees Alex (Will Arnett) without a really thinking about it. And just like that, the 20-year (including dating) marriage of Tess and Alex Novak is done.
Alex moves into an apartment and does his forlorn, hang-dog best with co-parenting of the couple’s two spunky young boys (Blake Kane and Calvin Knegten).
If you’re concerned that Tess and Alex’s upcoming divorce and the impending family fracture means a miserable night at the movies—don’t worry. There’s ultimately more healing than hurt happening here.
Funny Fate
Alex, a jaded finance executive, has shared a potent pot cookie with his wife who stole it from their friend’s kitchen. He drifts around, high as a kite, in New York City’s West Village, and finds himself in front of the Comedy Cellar. Sans cash for the cover charge, he puts himself down as a comic, gets in free, suddenly finds himself behind a stand-up mic with no comedy routine, and just starts talking about what it’s like to be newly single after years of marriage.The supportive audience titter and giggle in all the right places in response to his improvised material, and Alex (the story is inspired by the real-life career trajectory of English comedian John Bishop) quickly catches the comedy bug. He keeps coming back for more, hanging with the comics and learning the craft.
Tess starts dating immediately and soon finds a man she vibes with named Laird (a fine acting debut from legend-in-his-own-time, former Colts-Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning). Then again, Manning has been doing truly funny commercials for years, so his acting excellence comes as no surprise.
Turns out, Tess used to be an Olympic-level volleyball player before she ditched her sports career to support her husband and raise their kids. Is it too late to reclaim her passion for the sport and try a career in coaching?
This is just the kind of role the formidable Laura Dern can sink her teeth into. Arnett is a natural fit as a man at a marital crossroads. He reveals a range and depth that few would have been able to see coming, based on his heretofore best-known role as the maladjusted magician Gob in the sitcom “Arrested Development.”
Tess and Alex’s respective readjustments are in no way straightforward. A sort of drily lived-in milieu appears to be what director Bradley Cooper is going for. Cooper also co-wrote the screenplay with Arnett, and shines in a supporting role as Alex’s artist buddy, who goes by the name of Balls. The running gag is that he’s often way too high to function normally, but infectiously grins his way out of potential problems.
I’ve been following up-and-coming comedian Jordan Jensen’s rising star for about a year now, and as far as I’m concerned, she steals the entire movie as one of the many comics Alex learns from, with very little screen time here. It’s rare to see someone with a huge, brash personality, and absolutely zero filter, who’s simultaneously sensitive, vulnerable, and adorable. The range of emotions that flit across her face are riveting because she’s entirely unpredictable. Jordan Jensen is one to keep an eye on.
“Is This Thing On?” is worth putting an eye on too.
