COMIC DRAMA; 2hr 4m
STARRING: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper
In transit: Dern and Arnett
If ingrained habits are the hardest to break, ending a long-term relationship has to be a ten on the trauma scale. Alex and Tess Novak (Arnett and Dern) have been together for 26 years all told. When their 20-year marriage runs out of juice — no major dramas, just a general lack of impetus — Alex moves into an apartment and does his melancholy best with the co-parenting of the couple’s self-possessed young sons (Blake Kane and Calvin Knegten).
It’s a rough ride to begin with. Alex is lonely and misses his former home. But even with all that going on, the strangest awakening is taking place: in a random development (inspired by the real-life emergence of English comedian John Bishop), city suit Alex finds himself onstage in a New York City comedy cellar, braving his first open-mic night with a low-key, off-the-cuff routine. It goes over a treat with the crowd, sparking in him a new sense of purpose.
Tess is finding her own way forward, as well, revisiting the game of volleyball she played professionally and loved, and which she is now considering coaching for the Olympics. Their mutual readjustment is in no way straightforward, however, drily lived-in being what director Bradley Cooper is manifestly going for. (Cooper also co-wrote the screenplay with Arnett and Mark Chappell and joins a rollicking supporting cast as Alex’s chilled bestie, Balls.)
Just because a union is worth fighting for doesn’t guarantee anyone a win. With his gravelly resignation and thrumming undertow of anxiety, Arnett (Arrested Development), is a natural fit as a man at a marital crossroads. The ever-empathetic Dern is right there with him. Her Tess meets Alex step for risky step, navigating their new unknown in a paradoxical pas de deux of misconnection and need.
