Will Arnett

Gob Bluth works hard to seem important, and Will Arnett makes sure we can see the work. In Arrested Development (2003), his confidence is exhausting because it needs so much maintenance. We rate the performance for making that effort funny without making Gob easy company. Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat’s smaller reactions give the ensemble somewhere quieter to go; without such changes of pace, that much insistence would wear us out.

Gob was his breakthrough, followed by a substantial career in voice work. Animation gave his gravelly baritone other uses, including the title role in BoJack Horseman (2014) and Batman and Bruce Wayne in the 2017 Lego film. The former allows comedy and pathos; the latter puts the voice to work in parody. The danger is repetition, and a familiar comic presence cannot compensate for a poorly chosen story. Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins (2023), with Arnett as Alex Magnussen, is kind and sometimes funny, but gives its coach the attention that should belong to the team.

Is This Thing On? (2025) makes better use of him as Alex Novak, a man whose marriage is coming apart and who begins performing at open-mic nights. Arnett shares the screenplay credit with director Bradley Cooper and Mark Chappell, and plays the early sets as awkward confessions rather than polished routines. We were moved by his kitchen scenes with Laura Dern because he keeps approaching what he needs to say and failing to say it. He lets us sit with the embarrassment without asking for a knowing laugh.

Cinematographer Matthew Libatique stays close to Arnett in dim rooms, making his hesitations difficult to miss. Editor Charlie Greene leaves the pauses in the stand-up sets, which gives the performance time to be uncomfortable. Kevin Thompson’s production design supplies a house that feels lived in, so the kitchen scenes need little explanation. Composer James Newberry is less helpful when the score tells us to be moved after Dern has already done the work.

The script is softer than either lead, and this is a good film rather than an exceptional one. We would like to see Arnett given more work that trusts him to be unsure. Try it for Arnett and Dern, and forgive the writing when it lets them off too easily.