Bradley Cooper’s latest directorial venture, Is This Thing On?, invites us into the awkwardly tender aftermath of marriage, where love doesn’t vanish, it transforms. The first trailer, released Tuesday, offers a glimpse of the emotionally calibrated comedy-drama that blends lingering heartache, reinvention, and a dash of self-deprecating humor.
In the film, Will Arnett stars as Alex Novak, a father on the brink, steering through impending divorce and an identity wobble. His estranged wife, Tess, played by Laura Dern, is a former Olympic-level athlete whose selfhood has been overshadowed by family priorities. As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex stumbles into the gritty, sleepless world of New York City’s stand-up comedy scene. (“I think I’m getting a divorce,” he deadpans during a low-stakes Comedy Cellar set.) Tess grapples with the sacrifices she made and the person she has become, forcing both characters to navigate co-parenting and the question of whether love can evolve rather than end.
What’s particularly fascinating is how the film approaches reinvention not as a glamorous resurgence but as a midlife catharsis, as Cooper puts it in Vanity Fair. That tone reframes the narrative from crisis to recalibration, and Will Arnett, who had never performed stand-up, immerse himself in workshops to capture that gleeful teetering between vulnerability and stage fright.
A star-studded ensemble enriches the emotional tapestry. Bradley Cooper himself steps in as Arnie, Alex’s steadfast friend. Andra Day brings grace and gravity as Tess’s best friend Christine. Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds round out the familial circle, while spitfire presences like Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, and Peyton Manning liven up the supporting dynamics. Additionally, real-life New York comedians Chloe Radcliffe, Reggie Conquest, and Jordan Jensen lend downtown authenticity.
The screenplay, co-written by Cooper, Arnett, and Mark Chappell, is inspired by a similar real-life journey of stand-up reinvention, British comedian John Bishop’s life. According to Vanity Fair, the idea sprouted from a dinner party conversation between Arnett and Bishop years ago.
Is This Thing On? is scheduled to world premiere as the closing-night film at the 2025 New York Film Festival on Oct. 10 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The city’s energy plays a fundamental role in the story—director Cooper emphasized that filming throughout New York imbued the project with an irreplaceable grit and electricity. A theatrical release will follow in select theaters December 19.
This marks Cooper’s directorial return following A Star Is Born (2018) and Maestro (2023), two films that showcased his emotional range and nuanced storytelling. His growing repertoire continues to earn him widespread acclaim, even as he works on snagging that long-coveted Oscar.
