The Trailer for Bradley Cooper's 'Is This Thing On?' Has Considerably Less Flop Sweat

A Star Is Born was Bradley Cooper’s big, heartfelt (and depressing) drama designed, seemingly, to win Cooper an Oscar on his first attempt at directing. It was very good. It did not win the Oscar. I feel like Maestro was more of a desperation attempt to make the exact movie that Oscar voters love, but that, too, fell flat.

Is This Thing On?, based on a very compelling true story, looks — at least based on this trailer — like Bradley Cooper is not necessarily trying to prove himself or win anything but just make a good, heartfelt drama.

Sometimes, it’s when you stop trying so hard that you finally gain the recognition you seek, and Is This Thing On? has 72 percent less flop sweat than Cooper’s previous effort. With the exception of Bradley Cooper’s hat, I am very into this.

Is This Thing On? will close out the New York Film Festival before premiering in December. It’s directed by Cooper, and co-written by Cooper, Will Arnett, and Mark Chappell. It stars Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Amy Sedaris, and Sean Hayes.