Movie Review: Is This Thing On?

3.5 stars out of 5

Alec Baldwin said it was the best movie of the year, and this was a slow New Year’s Day, so I found myself in a surprisingly crowded theater for Is This Thing On? Well, maybe Baldwin needs to see a few more films, but it was a decent, “grown-up” way to spend a couple of hours.

I guess the ideal audience for this movie is upper-middle-class divorced people with kids, just trying their best to make it through this crazy world. In other words, 90% of Hollywood. Director/co-writer/co-star Bradley Cooper is a divorced dude with a kid, same with co-writer/co-star WIll Arnett, and co-star Laura Dern is a divorced mom with kids. (Oh, Alec Baldwin? Divorced; kid.) So they were inspired by the true-life story of a British guy, separated from his wife, who took a stab at stand-up comedy.

Arnett (financial guy who we never once see at work) and Dern (retired Olympic volleyball player) are headed in different directions after 20 years of marriage and two sons, 10 and 11 years old. There’s still a lot of love around so it’s tough. The upper-middle-class thing is key (which I would’ve liked the script to acknowledge), because we see both partners grappling with the emotional and psychological aspects of separation, but the monetary issues, which can cripple so many, don’t come into play here. Oh, Will has to move out? No problem, he’ll just get a nice apartment in the city.

Arnett, who we learn was “always a funny guy,” stumbles into stand-up. Sharing tales from his own life, he finds it cathartic, and he improves as he goes. We get to once again (as we did in Louie, and Crashing, etc.) explore the world of New York City comedy clubs, and the camaraderie found there. (Hey, there’s Dave Atell, and Chloe Radcliffe.) Maybe Laura Dern can plug back into her passions too, though that kind of gets short shrift here.

The movie feels like we’re hanging out with friends. I can certainly see myself separated from Laura Dern. Arnett is very good; really captures the distracted look of one suffering from trauma. I see him either getting a surprise best actor nomination, or else a couple of articles mentioning he was snubbed. Cooper is a bearded stoned buddy, good for a laugh or honest talk. (The movie is pretty talky.)  Amy Sedaris feels right as the Comedy Cellar manager. Sean Hayes is another buddy, and I’m sure they’re having good fun on Smartless, Jason Bateman all mock-hurt, “What, there wasn’t a role for me, pal?” I didn’t recognize Ciaran Hinds or Christine Ebersole as Will’s parents but they turn in nice small parts. There’s one bit of stunt casting that was initially jarring but worked out fine. And in product placement news, BUY A VOLKSWAGEN.

Is this thing on streaming? Not yet, but that’ll be a fine place to watch it.