There’s something pure in seeing the healing nature of art and how it helps people through tough times — but watching a character embrace stand-up comedy means both the audience within the movie and the audience of the film, as in us, gets to laugh, if the movie’s well-written enough. Is This Thing On? hits all the right notes thanks to its funny and vulnerable script and pitch-perfect casting of its two leads.
Will Arnett gives far and away the most wonderful performance of his career, never letting his signature goofiness get in the way of something raw and delicate. The way he finds joy through a new hobby, and many who find that comedy puts just a little beneath his wings, feels so cinematic. Laura Dern is terrific and gives so much to the character’s complexity, and at times the story is very much her own.
Cooper’s direction knows when to be showy and when to close in very intimately, while the script does a great job portraying the complexities of love, even as its practicality and patience fades, and sometimes even reignites. What thankfully subverts expectations is that neither character going through this divorce is “unlikable” or acting in a way that feels too irrational or hard to sympathize with. They can be flawed and distant, but very much easy to care for and understand. Arnett and Dern are splendid together and it has just the right amount of silly yet smart laughs, which never compromise the film’s serious humanity and intelligence.
Rating: ★★★★
Review by: Gal Balaban