Hey guys! Today, I’ll be discussing my thoughts on the brand-new Bradley Cooper–directed, Will Arnett–starring film, Is This Thing On?. Let’s review!

So, this film is about a man named Alex (Will Arnett) who’s currently going through an impending divorce. He finds new purpose doing stand-up comedy in New York and basically uses it as his therapy. However, his wife Tess (Laura Dern) really confronts all the hard sacrifices that she had made for her family. When I saw the trailer, I thought it looked wonderful. Bradley Cooper is a great director, and I got excited to see Will Arnett in a more serious role. So I saw it, and what did I think? I very much enjoyed it, but I didn’t relate to it as much as I had hoped.

This is a very clever and poignant movie. Will Arnett was fantastic, and Laura Dern was also very good. I just didn’t relate to the movie as much as I thought I would because I haven’t had enough life experience to really feel what he is feeling. But there are absolutely one or two scenes that made me think, “Yeah, I get that.” Honestly, though, I found this movie pretty hopeful.

This movie felt more positive than I thought it would be. That being said, it felt less realistic and not super representative of a newly divorced couple’s struggles. Still, it was very funny and featured great supporting work from everybody. Even the child actors were really good. Bradley Cooper plays an eccentric character in this film, and he’s hilarious. A lot about this was good.

The ending did feel a little mailed in, though. Plus, there is a celebrity cameo in this film that I won’t spoil, you’ll know it when you see it. No offense or anything against this person; I’m super happy he got in this movie, and he has some good SNL chops, but he just felt out of his element here. Maybe they should have given the role to a legit actor. Overall, I thought Is This Thing On? was a very solid film.

I’m gonna give Is This Thing On? a B+.