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Is This Thing On?
2025 121 min United Kingdom, United States of America R 12+
★7.1
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Bradley Cooper
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Description
As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.
Budget:
$15M
US Gross:
$6.19M
Worldwide:
$10.13M
Starring
Will Arnett
Actor
Laura Dern
Actor
Andra Day
Actor
Awards
1 win & 3 nominations total
Key opinion
Is This Thing On? is a reflective drama that uses the backdrop of stand-up comedy to explore the complexities of midlife identity and marital dissolution. While some viewers praise the film's philosophical depth and emotional honesty, others find the narrative's focus on the protagonist's personal crises to be repetitive or uninspired.
| Theme | The film offers a profound, allegorical examination of how self-reflection and the pursuit of individual passions influence the health of long-term relationships. | |
| Cinematography | Matthew Libatique’s intimate cinematography effectively heightens the emotional stakes, lending an authentic, observant quality to the characters' private struggles. | |
| Acting | Will Arnett and Laura Dern deliver layered performances that capture the quiet, non-hostile disintegration of a two-decade marriage. | |
| Humor | The use of stand-up comedy as a narrative device is divisive; some critics find the protagonist's routines to be exploitative and unfunny, while others see them as a vital, cathartic ritual of self-recognition. |