Will Arnett in a scene from "Is This Thing On?" (Jason McDonald/Associated Press)

Why is it that most movies about stand-up comics aren’t funny? This isn’t the same thing as stand-up comedy concert films, of which there are many good ones. No, I’m talking about dramas that focus on how the main character channels their misery and unhappiness by getting on stage, telling jokes about their domestic lives and waiting for their big break. There are too many of these movies, and most of them are duds.

The latest “Is This Thing On?” arrived during the busy and competitive holiday movie season, and the only thing more disappointing than its mediocrity was that it’s from writer, director and actor Bradley Cooper.

Will Arnett stars as Alex, a dad who is splitting up with his wife Tess (Laura Dern) and struggles to maintain a relationship with their two sons. When Alex hits an especially vulnerable low point, he finds himself on stage during an open mic night, spills his guts to an amused audience and emerges as a clumsy but promising new stand-up comedian. The further Alex submerges himself into this world, the more he works to keep it a secret from his family.

Despite the talent involved, this is the least persuasive film about stand-up comedy I can think of. Cooper’s film is quite similar to the woeful 1988 stand-up drama “Punchline” with Sally Field and Tom Hanks, complete with a scene where the presence of someone in the audience creates a catastrophe for the comedian on stage.

Arnett pushes himself, but Dern owns this movie. Tess is a potentially thankless, cliched role but, to the credit of the screenwriters — Cooper, Arnett and Mark Chappell — the part has surprising layers, and Dern shines here.

Peyton Manning’s weird supporting performance — a character role that could have been played by anyone — is every bit as out of place and distracting as Conan O’Brien in “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.” At least the O’Brien movie has the distinction for being the worst movie title of 2025.

Speaking of awkward, Cooper also plays a mild comic sidekick role that should have been a scene stealer, but winds up as bland as everything else here.

The film finally goes the full Cameron Crowe in the third act, going soft about contemporary romance and settling on an everybody-wins conclusion it doesn’t earn.

Here is yet another movie about entitled yuppies whining about unimportant, middle-aged nonsense. The stakes feel low for the characters. After all, how dire is the protagonist’s scenario if, at the very least, he still gets to win Dern in the end?

Cooper’s film somehow feels both too long and too loose, even at a reasonable 120-minute running time. To give Cooper a break, his latest isn’t bad, just underwhelming. Coming from him, it’s a shock to see him take on something so lightweight.

In addition to being the greatest stand-up comic who ever lived, Richard Pryor wrote, directed and starred in “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling” (1986), where he played himself, explored the darker aspects of his personal life and made a really funny and revealing film.

Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” (2009) is another exception of a hilarious, character-driven drama about self-loathing comedians. Here, you wonder what drew Cooper to the material, especially since it’s allegedly based on the life of British comedian John Bishop.

It says a lot that not only does “Is This Thing On?” make stand-up comedy look really easy (if not curiously unfunny), but the stand-up scenes should be the highlight of the film, and they aren’t.

Maybe after directing two heavy hitting dramas, Cooper just wanted to take on something easier. Whereas Cooper’s “A Star is Born” (2018) remains a knockout and his “Maestro” was an ambitious period piece, his third and hopefully not last directing gig has all the hilarity of a knock-knock joke.

(2 out of 4 stars)

Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and teaches film classes at University of Hawai’i Maui College.