Is This Thing On? Review: BFI LFF 2025

Bradley Cooper helms and co-stars in romcom set in the New York stand-up scene Is This Thing On?

A man walks into a bar – that’s not the punchline, just the set up of Is This Thing On? – a man walks into a bar, and to avoid paying the $15 entry fee, signs himself to take part in their stand-up comedy open mic night. Against all odds he’s kind of good at it. Unprepared, stilted, unsure of himself yes; but there’s definitely a spark there. Before long Will Arnett’s Alex is finding a new family and new self confidence by doing sets in New York’s underground stand-up comedy scene.

He’s got a hell of a good source for material for his set. Alex is a newly separated father of two. He’s just moved out of the house he shared with wife Tess (Laura Dern) for twenty years after an amicable and low key break up that was simply decided one morning with the words ‘’shall we call this thing?’’ and ‘’Yeah.’’

He and Tess must now learn to co-parent, juggling kids and jobs between two homes and trying to find their way through the awkward phase of becoming separate families. While their friends the failing actor Arnie (Bradley Cooper) and his artist wife (Andra Day) keep waiting for the whole thing to blow up, it’s surprisingly Alex’s new foray into stand-up comedy that may just allow the failing couple a way through the issues that split them up in the first place.

Written by Arnett and British stand-up John Bishop, much of Is This Thing On’s supporting cast is rounded out by recognisable comedy faces including Amy Sedaris and Sean Hayes. While Alex’s budding act isn’t particularly hilarious, much of the rest of the film is very funny, with a whole host of cast members including the child actors having excellent comic timing. That Bradley Cooper steals every scene he’s in when so many of his co-stars are professional comedians is quite the feat, yet steal the scene Arnie does.

As Bradley Cooper’s third directorial effort, Is This Thing On? is a simplistic, understated affair. It’s unlikely to contend for ‘best picture’ or become anyone’s favourite film, but it’s a film that finally feels like his primary motivation in making it isn’t just to prove his own genius to everyone. His work here is unobtrusive but solid, and while the drama is low stakes, Is This Thing On? builds to become something greater than the sum of its parts. A quietly optimistic romcom that feels grounded in real-life relationships, it’s a hopeful film. An anti ‘Marriage Story’ if you will.

Laura Dern and Will Arnett both give great performances. Arnett has a schtick, yes, and he doesn’t stray too far from his usual quick, self-deprecating character here, but he’s several shades lighter than Bojack Horseman or GOB Bluth – a good-natured guy prone to gentle ribbing and awkward faux pas rather than actual cruelty or nihilism. Dern is charming, and we, as an audience, have a good time watching these two characters together, particularly as neither of them are demonised or blamed as being the ‘bad guy’ in the relationship breakdown. It feels authentic and not overly romcom sweet or melodramatic.

Ending with an ‘’Under Pressure’’ needle drop that’s joyful enough to retroactively heal maybe 5% of the pain of the one in Aftersun, Is This Thing On? is one of my surprises of the year so far. A gently funny, mature look at the difficult nuances of adult relationships in which its characters actually manage to grow and learn – it’s an unlikely feel-good movie from Bradley Cooper.

Is This Thing On? is playing as part of the BFI London Film Festival. A UK cinema release is expected in early 2026

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