Is This Thing On?

Last night I went to the Broadway to see Is This Thing On? and, even though it is very predictable, there was enough humor and pathos to keep me invested.  Alex Novak (Will Arnett) is a middle-aged man who has recently separated from his wife Tess (Laura Dern) after years of growing apart and is now struggling with how to co-parent his sons Felix (Blake Kane) and Jude (Calvin Knegten) and maintain relationships with the couple's shared friends Balls (Bradley Cooper), Christine (Andra Day), Stephen (Sean Hayes), and Geoffrey (Scott Icenogle).  After an especially tense evening with Tess and their friends, he decides to get a drink but, when he doesn't have the money to pay the cover charge at a comedy club, he puts his name down for open mic night in order to get in free.  He uses his divorce as inspiration for his routine and, because he gets a few laughs, he soon has the confidence to perform regularly and finds catharsis and a new lease on life.  Meanwhile, Tess begins coaching volleyball after retiring from playing on the national team years ago to have a family.  Complications ensue when Alex and Tess start to see each other in a different light after years of taking each other for granted.  I enjoyed the dynamic handheld camerawork, particularly during the comedy routines, and the naturalistic sound design, especially in a scene at a birthday party between Alex and Balls, because they really add to the authenticity of the narrative.  The performances from both Arnett and Dern are incredibly poignant and I loved their interactions as a couple who have lost themselves but somehow find their way back to each other (they have tremendous chemistry) because they feel so honest.  I also loved Cooper as the goofy best friend because he is a perfect foil to Arnett.  Finally, I found this to be very heartwarming but it is also quite funny, especially when Alex and Tess try to hide that they are breaking up from their friends in an early scene and then conceal that they are back together in a later one.  I enjoyed this charming take on divorce and would definitely recommend it.

Note:  When I first saw the trailer, the plot reminded me of how the comedian John Bishop got his start (which he talked about on The Graham Norton Show).  It turns out that the character of Alex is loosely based on his experiences and that he is also an executive producer.