‘Is This Thing On?’ With Will Arnett

Written by Kelsey Vickers. Photography by Miha Palancha.

On Oct. 28, SCAD presented Will Arnett with the Luminary Award and held an early screening for his new film “Is This Thing On?” 

Arnett’s thank-you speech was a balancing act between vulnerability and humor, much like his performance in the film. “I’m very honored to receive this award,” he said. “Part of me, the insecure young actor, thinks I’m going to come out here and it’s just going to be my dad by himself.”

“Is This Thing On?” follows Alex Novak (Arnett) as he grapples with his separation from his wife, Tess (Laura Dern). Alex finds purpose after stumbling into a comedy club and Tess reclaims an old passion. They learn to reconnect with themselves and what that means for their relationship. 

The film leaves viewers with the same message Arnett drew from his career, “If you leave yourself open, you can get to a destination that you couldn’t have even imagined.”

The story is inspired by UK comedian John Bishop’s serendipitous experience coming into the comedy scene. Arnett met Bishop one day in Amsterdam and was compelled to write. He shared it with Bradley Cooper for input, and he insisted on developing it alongside Arnett.

Cooper operated the camera for most of the film. He worked so physically close with the actors that “half the editing process was scrubbing his voice,” as Arnett said. That combined with Arnett and Dern’s vulnerable performances felt like an intrusion of privacy to witness.

The film presented itself to revolve around standup comedy, but more than anything, it was reconnection. It was funny, but not aggressively so. It was quiet wit forged from discomfort. The first hour dragged on a bit, but that slowness reflected the truth of loneliness. What it lacked in theatrics, it made up for in authenticity.

Arnett said, “I wanted to make something that felt authentic and that people could connect to,” and he succeeded.