Bradley Cooper keeps his camera close to his actors in Is This Thing On?, the story of a New York guy who steadies his life during a separation from his wife. How? He tries his hand at stand-up comedy.
Cooper's movie focuses on Alex Novak (Will Arnett), a guy who works in finance. Alex seems dejected by his separation from Tess (Laura Dern), his wife of 20 years, but he's not doing much to buck the tide of marital failure.
Parents of two 10-year-olds (Calvin Knegten and Blake Kane), the Novaks don't argue or ever seem to fret about money. We're asked to assume that their marriage has gone stale. We're also told that the two 10-year-olds are "Irish twins," siblings born in the same year.
The breakup goes smoothly enough. Tess and the kids remain in the Novaks' suburban Westchester County home, and Alex finds an apartment in the city. He buys a VW van to transport the kids back and forth.
A bit at loose ends, Alex discovers stand-up almost by accident. Wandering around his new neighborhood, he spots The Olive Cafe, a club that looks inviting. In the club's basement, comics use open-mic nights to polish their acts.
To avoid the club's $15 cover charge, Alex signs up to do a set. On stage, he begins talking about the new phase of his life. He's doing what he thinks a comic might do in his situation.
Cooper shows a fair amount of Alex's burgeoning act, which centers on his new status as a single guy. He has a few clever lines and learns how to work an audience, but -- in my view, at least -- he's not especially funny.
The odd and slightly disturbing thing about Alex's journey doesn’t get much play. What’s Alex’s public display about? Does he really require a microphone to get on with his life? Is he just another part of our current moment of hear-me excess?
Alex and Tess have a circle of friends, but Alex develops a new cohort, aspiring comics who are trying to find a breakout moment.
Scenes with real comics (Jordan Jensen, Chloe Radcliffe, and Reggie Conquest) add authenticity, as does Amy Sedaris, who plays a showbiz-savvy booker. The movie needed more of her.
Cooper mostly stays off-screen. A thick bushy beard functions almost as a disguise. He plays Alex's buddy Balls. (Hey, it's in the credits.) An old college pal of Alex's, Balls works as an actor, but his career seems wobbly.
Disarmingly credible, Dern's Tess, a former Olympic volleyball champion, tentatively approaches the idea of expanding her horizons. Tess decides to revitalize her routine by becoming a coach. The upcoming Los Angeles Olympics beckon.
A pivotal scene arrives when Tess goes on an impromptu date -- her escort is played by Peyton Manning -- and winds up at a club where Alex performs a bit in which he reveals that he's had his first sexual encounter since the breakup.
Initially miffed, Tess responds to Alex's frankness; it seems to re-light her spark, and Alex begins, as he puts it, "an affair with his ex-wife."
Is This Thing On? might be Cooper's least momentous directorial effort. His previous work teamed him with Lady Gaga in a remake of A Star is Born, which he followed by playing Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, a look at the emotionally conflicted life of a musical genius.
Aside from a couple of group gatherings, the supporting cast remains on the periphery. Andra Day portrays Balls' bitchy wife. Christine Ebersole and Ciaran Hinds appear as Alex's parents. Hinds has a nicely anchored scene with Arnett toward the end, but the movie belongs to Arnett, whose likability keeps Is This Thing On? from derailing.
Is This Thing On? was inspired by the true story of English comic John Bishop whose experience resembled Alex's. I guess such knowledge, revealed in interviews with Cooper, shows that Alex's transition to comedy isn't as far-fetched as it might initially seem.
I wasn’t enthusiastic about Is This Thing On? The movie is tolerable, but Cooper doesn't find much bite in its two-hour and four-minute runtime -- either in Alex's stand-up or in the movie itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment