Is This Thing On? Review | Flickreel

Standup is like therapy… when you think about it. In both cases, a person exposes their innermost thoughts. People are given license to be brutally honest, saying things about their loved ones that they probably wouldn’t admit to their faces. Of course, if a therapist laughed at your emotional turmoil, you’d likely ask for a refund. If an audience laughs, you feel strangely gratified. Laughter tells a comedian that the audience has been there too, letting them know they aren’t alone. That said, what happens in therapy stays in that room. When you say something onstage, your thoughts are out in the open. Will Arnett has been one of our best comedic actors for over twenty years, going back to his work on Arrested Development. Anyone who’s seen BoJack Horseman knows that Arnett is also underappreciated as a dramatic actor. No joke, Arnett demonstrated some of the century’s rawest acting chops as a cartoon horse, the episode with BoJack’s eulogy to his mother being a dramatic highlight. Much like how that episode provided an extended monologue for Arnett, Is This Thing On? largely relies on his ability to hold an audience’s attention. Arnett succeeds in a Best Actor-worthy performance. Arnett
Read More