Is This Thing On?

Encapsulating the mix of awkwardness and sweetness that pervades Is This Thing On, an early sequence features Alex (Will Arnett) standing on stage for the first time, spilling his guts about his broken marriage in extreme closeup.

We feel both for the anxious Alex and for the audience of complete strangers who aren’t sure whether to react with amusement, horror, sympathy, or pity.

This richly textured relationship drama from director Bradley Cooper intimately examines catharsis through comedy, generating some big laughs even as it simmers with discomfort beneath the surface.

Alex and Tess (Laura Dern) have been together for more than two decades, but it’s obvious that something is amiss even as they try to keep up appearances. We quickly learn that Alex has amicably moved out of the New York home he shared with Tess and their two young boys.

Amid the friction, Alex wanders into a comedy club as a pick-me-up, and signs up for open-mic night to avoid paying the nominal cover charge. His turn in the spotlight is an oversharing nightmare, but still galvanizes him enough to return, and eventually gain a following.

Partially through his punchlines, the film gradually reveals clues about how their relationship fell apart. “We just slowly grew away from each other,” Tess explains.

Meanwhile, his empowered and somehow endearing alter-ego becomes Alex’s coping mechanism, as well as a vessel for self-analysis and therapy. Tess, a former Olympic volleyball player, rediscovers a passion for coaching, ready to navigate an uncertain future that’s forever linked to the past.

The screenplay starts out like a conventional portrait of a fracturing family. However, it’s bolstered by nuanced performances from Arnett and Dern, who bring complexity and conviction to their respective roles as partners and parents.

Arnett embraces the challenge of a good comedian playing a bad comedian. Although unintentional, the film would make a suitable companion piece with Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (2019), for which Dern won an Oscar.

Although the pace could be snappier and tangential subplots fall flat, Is This Thing On doesn’t pass judgment while finding its offbeat emotional footing in the final act.

Along the way, it delves into the camaraderie among blue-collar stand-ups working underground clubs on weeknights.

Succeeding more as a breezy romantic comedy than a deeper introspective drama about commitment and self-discovery, the film thoughtfully reinforces the adage about laughter making the best medicine.

Rated R, 124 minutes.