Divorce is rough, but have you tried doing stand-up comedy about your divorce while your ex-wife sits in the front row? Is This Thing On premieres December 19, 2025, with Will Arnett discovering that his midlife crisis makes for surprisingly good material at New York comedy clubs. Bradley Cooper directs this painfully relatable story that proves sometimes the best therapy costs two drinks and a cover charge.
Divorce Comedy
The Is This Thing On Cooper collaboration began when Cooper, Arnett, and Mark Chappell developed the screenplay inspired by British comedian John Bishop’s life story. Arnett plays Alex, navigating divorce and co-parenting while discovering stand-up comedy as unexpected outlet for processing his relationship’s collapse.
“This film is not merely about a midlife crisis—it embodies a midlife catharsis,” Cooper explained to Vanity Fair. “There are moments when you come to the realization that you’ve been drifting and have lost your direction and purpose in life, which impacts everyone around you.”
NYC Energy
Filming throughout New York City from January to April 2025 allowed the Is This Thing On Cooper production to capture authentic comedy club atmosphere. “NYC infuses a vitality into every element of filmmaking that simply cannot be duplicated,” Cooper noted about shooting in the city that serves as the film’s character-defining backdrop.
Laura Dern plays Tess, Alex’s soon-to-be ex-wife who “confronts the sacrifices she made for their family” while navigating co-parenting dynamics. The supporting cast includes Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, and Peyton Manning in what promises to be his most unexpected cameo yet.
Festival Circuit
The Is This Thing On Cooper project world premieres as closing night selection at New York Film Festival October 10, before Searchlight Pictures releases it theatrically December 19. “We are truly honored and grateful to showcase our film at the New York Film Festival,” Cooper expressed about the prestigious NYFF slot.
This marks Cooper’s third directorial venture following Maestro and A Star Is Born, continuing his exploration of performance, identity, and personal sacrifice themes. Despite twelve Academy Award nominations since 2013, Cooper has yet to win an Oscar—making this intimate comedy-drama potentially his most personally relatable project yet.
Produced by Cooper, Weston Middleton, Arnett, and Kris Thykier under Lea Pictures, the Is This Thing On Cooper film represents mature Hollywood storytelling about relationship evolution rather than typical romantic comedy formulas. Whether audiences embrace this level of midlife authenticity remains December’s biggest question.
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