Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542296
MIC DROP WITH BRADLEY COOPER'S 'IS THIS THING ON?', FORMER ASSISTANT CHARLIE GREENE MOVED UP TO THE BIG CHAIR P H OT O : S E A R C H L I G H T P I C T U R E S STAND UP GUY: Will Arnett, right, with Bradley Cooper in "Is This Thing On?" 46 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E By Peter Tonguette I n Bradley Cooper's new comedy-dra- ma "Is This Thing On?," Alex Novak (Will Arnett) finds that the best way to understand and eventually exorcise his personal problems is to present them to a paying audience with a microphone in hand. On the heels of his separation from his wife Tess (Laura Dern), Alex begins to make impromptu "open mic night" appearances at the Comedy Cellar in New York. There, in front of faceless strangers looking for a good laugh, Alex recounts the struggles and joys of his life, including his marital problems. He finds an outlet for his pain and a new avenue for his life. Against all odds, Alex also finds his way back to Tess and their two young sons. The expression referenced in the film's title — "Is this thing on?" — is not only a nod to a standard stand-up comedian line but an allusion to the state of Alex and Tess's marriage: what seemed very much in doubt and "off" — their union — turns out to have signs of life and thus be "on." Following "A Star is Born" (2018) and "Maestro" (2023), the f ilm is Cooper's third directorial effort and was co-written by him, Arnett, and Mark Chappell, from a story by Arnett, Chappell, and John Bishop. (Cooper also logs an appearance in a comic supporting role as Balls, a longtime friend of Alex and Tess.) Photographed in catch- as-catch-can documentary fashion, with Cooper responsible for the bulk of the cam- era operating, the film unfolds in long takes that bring to the forefront the complex, sometimes contradictory, emotional states of the characters. Following its premiere in October at the New York Film Festival, "Is 'I wanted the movie to feel like New York in the late '90s.'