Since his attention turned to directing, actor Bradley Cooper has taken on emotionally weighty productions in adapting the much-loved musical A Star is Born and taking on the biopic of one of America’s great composers with Maestro. His third effort is lightweight in comparison, inspired by comedian John Bishop’s unorthodox introduction to stand-up. Comedy drama Is This Thing On? transports his tale from the clubs of Manchester to Manhattan and centres around middle-aged man, Alex Novak (Will Arnett) as his marriage with Tess (Laura Dern) is on the rocks. Having left the family home to find a small apartment in the city, he finds himself at an open mic night and to avoid paying an entrance fee, he puts his name down to perform.
As well as portraying the leading man, Will Arnett conceived the idea and has a screenwriting credit alongside Mark Chappell and Cooper. Even with three writers on board, the first-world-problems script feels too slight to sustain a full feature. Everything comes too easy for Alex who appears to have a comfortable white-collar profession that we hear nothing about. In reality, there are horror stories of comedians bombing for months on the circuit before honing their craft but he rocks up with no jokes and very little stage presence and hits it off almost instantly. Perhaps British audiences would’ve been less forgiving than the NYC crowds depicted in this glorified version of events and with just anecdotal subject matter to build upon, the narrative is padded out with lacklustre filler.
Arnett is well suited to this type of role and does a decent enough job with what he has to work with. He and Dern share no spark though so are rather unconvincing as a husband and wife in turmoil. The hotchpotch cast is rounded out by what appears to be friends of the filmmakers turning up as a favour; Sean Hayes and his real-life husband Scott Icenogle are a sweet-toothed background couple, former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning appears in a bizarre cameo, Ciaran Hinds tries out an iffy accent, and Bradley Cooper himself is Alex’s eccentric bestie who goes by the name Balls. He and his partner, played by R&B star Andra Day, have their relationship troubles too, but these irritating supporting characters bring little more than a distraction from the flimsiness of the main plot.
John Bishop’s late start into the stand-up comedy scene would’ve made for an interesting and entertaining film, but Bradley Cooper’s loose interpretation Is This Thing On? just isn’t it. It might have the same vague premise but has none of his humour, charm, or personality – there’s barely enough material for a tight five, let alone a full set.
Cinema Perspective 