If you’re in the US, Bradley Cooper’s new movie Is This Thing On? hits theaters today (December 19). It’s his third movie as a director – following A Star Is Born and Maestro – but his first with a real-life inspiration.
Those of us in the UK who are fans of the international comedy circuit likely knew this already. The story is loosely based on the life of Liverpudlian comic John Bishop, who began performing stand-up as something to do after splitting up from his wife.
While the narrative beats are the same in Is This Thing On?, the overarching story is different. Set in the suburbs of New York, Alex (Will Arnett) takes to the comedy scene after breaking up with wife Tess (Laura Dern), a former volleyball champion who feels as though she’s lost her spark.
What follows is a chaotic on-off reunion as the pair try to find themselves and each other amidst their own issues. Of course, Cooper has his staple cameo in his own movie, posing as insufferable actor friend Archie.
But was there ever a point that Cooper and co-writer Mark Chappell dared to make a straight John Bishop biopic? According to Chappell and Arnett, Is This Thing On? was ‘never’ going to be.
“No, not really. I’m sure it would make a great film… it would make a different film,” Chappell tells me when I ask about a potential John Bishop biopic. “It was always going to have Will in it, and there was never any question that he was going to attempt to do John Bishop .
“Perversely, I regret that. I’d have liked to have seen what that turned out like, but creatively it was probably the right decision.”
But why John at all? “It’s such a lovely story,” Arnett adds. “I met John by chance through a mutual friend on a barge in Amsterdam. That’s a true story! So when he told me how he started in stand-up and what he did for his own life, it sounded like a great story that needed to be told.
“Mark and I started writing, and then we went to Bradley. When I sent him the script, he said he wanted to direct it, and he came to work on it with us. Bradley took us in such an incredible new direction.”
Annoyingly, fans in the UK and Australia will have to wait until January 30, 2026 to catch up with the trio’s take on Bishop’s like, but it’s well worth the wait.
Frankly, it’s exactly the time of year when we need something life-affirming, and I’m still thinking about Is This Thing On? over two months after seeing it.
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