After the Oscar buzz of A Star Is Born, something happened to Bradley Cooper. The actor who was once known for movies like Failure to Launch and The Hangover franchise was suddenly on a quest for an Academy Award. No matter the cost.
I say no matter the cost because I am still angry about much of Maestro but that’s just my theater kid ways. Sorry but there was a lot left out of that movie! But it made it clear, to me at least, that Cooper is determined to get an Oscar and I cannot really blame him. It is part of the Pennsylvania mentality, we always have to win.
But his latest film does something that I think might be his ticket to success: It leans into Cooper’s background. Is This Thing On? shared a first look at images of Will Arnett as a stand-up comedian and the comedy film is directed by Cooper, who does also star in it. But it does, from the images at least, seem like Arnett’s film. And the combination of being a comedy and allowing someone else to take on a leading role make it something different to me.
To be fair, I do think that he should have gotten the Best Actor win for A Star Is Born over Rami Malek for a bad film but hey, that ship has sailed. Even if it did seem to fundamentally change Cooper forever. Look, I think that A Star Is Born is an incredible adaptation and probably my favorite of them, even though I grew up with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. That being said, we cannot deny that Cooper has picked roles and projects that seem very Oscar-baity ever since.
The only fun he’s had is with Abbott Elementary!
This one looks fun too!
If you are a fan of Doctor Who, this will delight you, apparently the film is based loosely on John Bishop. Yeah, like Jodie Whittaker’s companion. But the movie itself does seem a lot more fun than Cooper trying to master the complicated like of Leonard Bernstein.
The film is described as follows: “The comedic drama follows a middle-aged man, Alex (Arnett), who’s on the verge of a divorce and seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. At the same time, his wife, Tess (Laura Dern), is comforting her own history as the two are forced to navigate co-parenting and identity. But despite his comedic success onscreen, Arnett had never before performed stand-up. Before shooting, the ‘Arrested Development’ actor performed weeks of comedy shows in character to prepare for his role in the Cooper-helmed film.”
So I mean this genuinely when I say it: I hope that this movie gets Cooper the awards he has been after. He is a great filmmaker and he is talented and while A Star Is Born should have played out differently, I think that a movie like Is This Thing On? might be more up his alley!
(featured image: Searchlight Pictures/Jason McDonald)
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