'Is This Thing On?' only sometimes flickers with feeling

Men would rather do stand-up comedy than go to therapy

Will Arnett and Laura Dern talk it out in “Is This Thing On?” (Searchlight Pictures)

Bradley Cooper gets his handheld camera as close to his actors as he possibly can in “Is This Thing On?” The frame is at times so full of the faces of Will Arnett and Laura Dern that they almost become distorted.

Much as he drew from movies of the 1950s and 1960s in making 2023’s “Maestro,” with “Is This Thing On?” Cooper seems to want to make a loose, talky indie movie from the ‘90s or ‘00s, the kind that Noah Baumbach or Mike Mills made. One gets the sense that, if he had his druthers, Cooper would be shooting on a crummier digital camera to get the aesthetic just right.

But while he gets uncomfortably close to his characters, his movie rarely gets inside them. For a story about the pains of middle-age angst and marital strife, the movie is surprisingly amiable and shallow. It’s content to just hang out with these people and watch them, rather than spark any empathy or understanding. It makes for an easy watch, but a frustrating one.

Will Arnett of “Arrested Development” (also one of several co-writers on the screenplay) is Alex Novak, a sad-sack finance guy and father of two. His two-decade marriage to Tess (Laura Dern), has crumbled seemingly past the point of repair. They don’t even really fight anymore – they’re too worn out by each other.

Shuttling back and forth between his crummy apartment in New York City and the couple’s old house in the suburbs, Alex is so immersed in the routines of breaking up – picking up the kids, divvying up the stuff, paying the bills – that he can avoid facing the emotional toll of what he’s going through. In the first dramatic role I’ve seen him in, Arnett is adept and affecting, using his raspy voice to suggest mental exhaustion rather than wry cynicism.

One night, Alex stumbles into a neighborhood bar and finds he doesn’t have the cash to pay the $15 cover charge. But the bar is having an open mic night, and participants get in for free. So he gets on stage and, under the glare of the spotlight, starts talking a little about his lonely life. (Yes, men would rather do stand-up comedy than go to therapy.)

Alex gets a few laughs, and a little applause, and finds that he likes doing stand-up. He starts to go to more open mics, and work on his material a little more, and discovers a largely supportive comedy community, including Amy Sedaris who serves as a sort of den mother for the comics.

“‘Is This Thing On?’ isn’t really a comedy . . . but, fatally, it’s not enough of a drama either, skimming over the surface of these roiling emotions and grasping for easy answers rather than hard truths.

His motivations are satisfyingly messy (even to himself), but talking to strangers about his feelings seems to make it easier for him to talk to his estranged wife about them. In the third act, Alex and Tess finally diagnose what went wrong in their marriage, and if there’s enough left to salvage to give it another shot.

So “Is This Thing On?” isn’t really a comedy – Alex’s lines as a standup are fine but not hilarious. Honestly, Cooper gives himself the funniest part, playing Alex’s best friend, an aspiring actor and unapologetic douchebag.

But, fatally, it’s not enough of a drama either, skimming over the surface of these roiling emotions and grasping for easy answers rather than hard truths. Dern is a truly great actress, but isn’t given enough to work with as Tess, beyond that she’s a former Olympian having trouble adjusting to ordinary life. And while we’re told a lot by supporting characters that Alex was once this great, creative guy, we barely get glimmers of that.

I definitely didn’t hate “Is This Thing On?”, and I can see it being the sort of filmmaking experiment that might transition Cooper into new areas as a filmmaker. But it’s a movie about stand-up that doesn’t really stand on its own two feet.

“Is This Thing On?” is now playing in theaters. It opens Friday in Madison at Marcus Point, Marcus Palace and AMC Fitchburg.