'Is this thing on?' review: Arnett, Dern in a dramedy about self-reinvention

Therapy is often used for comedy, but we don't often see comedy treated as sincere therapy. “Is this thing on?” from director and co-writer Bradley Cooper, argues that somber father Alex (Will Arnett), new to Splitsville after he and his wife of 20 years, Tess (Laura Dern), mutually agreed to separate, may have discovered an ideal coping mechanism by signing up for an open mic night.

It's not that we see this finance guy rejecting professional help in favor of some untapped passion. (Vamping for five minutes in front of strangers negates the cover charge.) But by bringing his marital problems to the stage and providing some laughs, Alex believes he's onto something: a talking cure that comes with a new identity, new friends, an acceptable level of risk, and a way out of unhappiness.

It's such a playful and appealing idea for a character study—facing failure with the potential for more failure (and night after night, to boot)—that when the movie proves that it's actually about whether marriage can be saved, rather than the granular, moody world of rookies, it almost feels like a bait-and-switch. Fortunately, the divorce saga is also interesting, featuring Dern at her best and being quite clever about the nuances of couples who have built something solid (stable lives, cute 10-year-old twins, etc.) while also growing apart. “Is this thing on?” It's that rarity: a perfectly worthy comedy-drama that sometimes feels bad because it tries to squeeze two good movies into one.

The confidence comes from Cooper, who, after just two films in the director's chair (“A Star is Born,” “Maestro”), has proven himself to be not only a powerful chronicler of artistic life but, especially, of couples in show business. This time, we are seduced by the self-expressive atmosphere of a nightclub and a group of regular fans with whom Alex feels comfortable. But for two hours, Cooper makes it clear that he simply followed his protagonist into a safe space of breath (with Amy Sedaris as a helpful veteran comic), not necessarily into a complex world of personality types to navigate. It's encoded by Cooper's visual approach, a handheld intimacy reminiscent of European films, in which Matthew Libatique's camera rarely strays from tight shots of Arnett's face, searching for changes: surrounding him, centering him, following him when Alex is in motion.

While Alex is earnest, if a little slapdash with his relationship jokes, Arnett (credited as co-writer with Mark Chappell, of a story they created with John Bishop) captures an effervescent, uncomfortable energy of midlife discovery. Invariably, the film doesn't care whether Alex could be any good as a comedian because it soon becomes about how this new pep in her step registers with Tess, who is struggling with her own sense of personal fulfillment as a former volleyball legend turned mother, and how it affects her borderline married friends, Christine (Andra Day) and Balls (Cooper, hilarious as a spacious actor). Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds, as Alex's parents, also give humorous opinions on what a long-term union entails.

After an entertainingly handled narrative coincidence, “Is This Thing On?” It's intended to be a more serious, less romantic comedy-style “It's Complicated,” in which Tess and Alex see if there's a new way to recognize where they went wrong. The actors sell it, especially when Dern isn't afraid to mix reinvigorated pleasure with the search for answers. But the stand-up plot, so promising, is abandoned and feels like a missed opportunity. Still, the ups and downs of marriage aren't simply a joke in “Is This Thing On?” – and that's good.