Is This Thing On? (15)

Bradley Cooper’s funniest film behind the camera, and yet also his most unexpectedly humane, Is This Thing On? is a charming delight.

Loosely inspired by one of our very own top comedians, John Bishop, the film opens with Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) calling it quits after 20 years; the spark has simply fizzled out. Before they’ve even told their friends – primarily Arnie (Cooper), a cartoonishly self-absorbed working actor – Alex has moved out of their suburban house and into a drab apartment downtown. Alex decides that a midlife crisis pursuit of stand-up comedy is in order.

Arnett, a long-time friend and former neighbour of Cooper, is a brilliant choice for this kind of tragicomic role. Anyone who watched Arrested Development will know him to be a comedic actor with remarkable emotional range.

Where Cooper’s first two films were fascinated with creative genius and the glare of celebrity (A Star is Born, Maestro), this is his first film to traffic in the ordinary, presenting an entirely believable and authentic family home life that collapses under the weight of inevitability.