Comedy is often discounted. More like comedians but the sentiment remains. Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On? shows audiences how healing comedy can be for someone and why so many turn to the artform.

Alex (Will Arnett) moves back to the city when his wife Tess (Laura Dern) decides they’re not happy. The two agree to separate and Alex is trying to find his new normal while living in New York City. What he finds is an outlet: Stand-up comedy. Alex turns to the Comedy Cellar and builds a community through telling stories of his life and his family and allowing it to heal him and the pain he feels after his separation.

What makes this a great turn for Cooper and his directorial endeavors is that it is rooted back in a real and raw human story, much like his adaptation of A Star Is Born. Rooted in the New York comedy scene, Is This Thing On? feels lived in. With scenes of friends all overlapping each other and Alex building a new group of friends, it feels organic and real to the experience. Cooper even gets to have a fun role as Alex’s friend Balls, an aspiring actor who is always up to something outrageous that Alex kind of just ignores.

But even with the human aspects of this story, there are still beautiful moments of Cooper’s style as a director. The raw camera work, the way that it feels like an up close and personal snapshot. All of it works to help make an audience care about this man who is clearly spiraling out.

Tess isn’t doing well either and it really is a beautiful look into these two broken people trying to move on and grow. But they’re also lost in their own feelings for each other. Cooper weaves the characters’ pain and upset into a humorous story that leaves audiences captivated.

But what makes Is This Thing On? great is Cooper’s ability to allow comedy to lead the charge. Is This Thing On? hits theaters on December 19.

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