Is This Thing On?

Friday, Feb 6
Luna Outdoor
Catch a cinema-exclusive pre-recorded interview with stars Laura Dern and Will Arnett before Bradley Cooper's keenly observed and affectionately funny drama of midlife crisis and marital meltdown, Is This Thing On? in the Luna Outdoor. Enjoy a $5 Rocky Ridge Luna Lager or $12 Scotch & Soda from the bar.
Doors: 6:30pm
Film start: 7:30pm

In a pair of galvanising, deeply honest performances, Will Arnett and Laura Dern play Alex and Tess Novak, whose marriage has reached an impasse. With amicable sorrow, the couple — parents of two young boys — mutually agree to split up. Yet, in director Bradley Cooper’s keenly observed comic drama, their separation leads to unpredictable midlife self-reckonings, most dramatically in Alex’s wild career pivot to become a confessional stand-up comedian in New York City’s West Village, where he finds new direction and camaraderie.

This seemingly outlandish scenario — in a script by Cooper, Arnett, and Mark Chappell inspired by the true story of British comedian John Bishop — is never played for easy laughs, while Cooper uses his penchant for naturalism to give the actors space to find their complicated centers. In his beautifully lived-in third feature following A Star Is Born and Maestro, Cooper confirms his dexterity for representing the complexities of human relationships, constructing a film that is both lacerating and sweet-souled, funny and tender.

Screening at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX from February 5.