Movies about divorce can be funny yet heartbreaking or wildly dramatic and hard to watch. Is This Thing On?, from director Bradley Cooper, who co-wrote the script with Mark Chappell and Will Arnett, who also stars as Alex, is more of the former. It’s unexpectedly touching and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Its characters are well-drawn and flawed, as Alex and Tess (Laura Dern) navigate their newly separated relationship after 20 years of marriage, and its story, while simple, delves into emotions and complications that stem from such a big life decision.

Is This Thing On? asks what comes next after separation. Divorce? Dating other people? Career shifts? Finding oneself again after so long of being in a couple? And, crucially, what does it mean to be unhappy in a marriage versus being unhappy with a marriage? Cooper’s film is surprisingly thoughtful in its exploration of these questions. It doesn’t villainize either character so much as it tries to understand them.

The result is a story that is as funny as it is heartfelt. Led by a fantastic cast and writing that takes its time while feeling grounded, the film sidesteps what might have been an easy inclination towards going over the top.

After two decades of marriage, and several years of dating before that, Alex and Tess have decided to amicably separate. Alex gets an apartment and picks up the couple’s sons on an agreed-upon schedule. And while Tess is flirting with the idea of getting into coaching volleyball (having been a star athlete years prior), Alex is a bit lost. Walking into a comedy club one night, he decides to take to the stage to avoid paying the cover charge, venting about his upcoming divorce and his confusion surrounding the turn his life has suddenly taken. He enjoys it more than he thinks, and he learns a lot more about his relationship than he bargained for.

Is This Thing On? Is An Excellent Balance Of Humor & Heartfelt

The dramedy treats its relationships with the respect and nuance that is needed to properly tell this story. It would have been so easy to fall into the trap of Alex ragging on his relationship, especially in a scene where I almost expected him to do exactly that, but the film is refreshingly honest about Alex and Tess’s relationship woes. While he doesn’t understand where things may have gone wrong, at least at first, Tess worries that Alex is no longer in love with the woman she is now.

Cooper, Chappell, and Arnett’s writing is thoughtful in its handling of the relationship’s deeper elements, though it never strays too far from the lightness of the scenario, mining humor from some of the discomfort. Some of the film’s funniest moments actually come from the supporting characters’ interactions with Alex and Tess; from Alex’s mother, Marilyn (Christine Ebersole), giving Tess advice (they’re hilariously, and much to Alex’s chagrin, very close) to Alex’s riotously clumsy and always hight best friend, Balls (Cooper who, for the first time in his directorial history, doesn’t star), providing wild commentary, the supporting cast is a true highlight, standing out and elevating an already great script.

Arnett is especially great at balancing the comedy and the drama, capably handling Alex’s turmoil. We instantly get a sense of his grasping-at-straws mindset, and we watch as he grows and learns more with each stand-up comedy performance and puts himself out there. It’s almost therapeutic.

For the first bit of the film, the focus is more on Arnett, but Dern gets her time to shine. While at first more one-sided, Is This Thing On? picks up on what Tess has been up to and her feelings on the dissolution of her marriage. By the end of the film, the pair’s convincing performances set the stage for believing in the next stage of Tess and Alex’s relationship.

With regards to directing, Cooper knows how to bring us into a character’s world, with the camera staying close to Arnett’s Alex, sweeping down and back up when it’s a particularly emotional moment. The camera’s unsteadiness speaks to Alex’s journey throughout, and the film’s use of music is lovely, understated, but memorable, highlighting the story’s emotional throughline.

What Cooper, Arnett, and Chappell have crafted here is nothing short of a heartfelt comedy that isn’t so easily dismissed. I imagine that Is This Thing On? will be a comforting watch upon a second viewing, a cozy, tender, and funny film that is as honest as it is a bit outrageous at times. There’s a sincerity that underscores its central themes, and the performances, writing, and direction don’t cut corners to get to the end. And what we end up with is a comedy-drama that understands what a thoughtful exploration of a relationship can look like onscreen.

Is This Thing On? screened at the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival. It will release in theaters on December 19.