A point of debate that comes up every awards season is category placements, and studios campaigning films and performances in categories that maximise their awards chances. Category placements matter in the landscape of an awards season as it can make the difference between a film or performance getting nominated or not. For example, last year’s awards season saw this debate come to the forefront of discussions, as both the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress races were marred by accusations of category fraud as Kieran Culkin’s and Zoe Saldaña’s performances in A Real Pain and Emilia Perez, respectively, swept the categories at all five major awards shows, despite being lead performances. This was notable as it is widely considered that neither performance would have been nominated in the lead acting races, particularly at the Oscars, due to the competitive nature of those races, and saw the supporting categories as an easier pathway to taking home awards.
This year, that debate has shifted more to the strategic placements when it comes to genre, as studios have been looking at their placements for the upcoming Golden Globes, which splits drama films and (the usually significantly weaker) comedy and musical films, with several announcements being made over the last few weeks about where major contenders are going to be campaigned, decisions that could majorly impact which films receive nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and which films miss out.
As well as the supporting acting races talked about in regards to category fraud last season, it was similarly the case with the Golden Globes, as films such as Challengers, The Substance and Heretic all competed as comedies despite none of them being traditional comedies, in order to increase their chances. Despite backlash, this was a strategy that worked favourably for all three films, as they received 5 combined nominations in the Comedy or Musical categories. This year has followed somewhat of a similar theme, as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, One Battle After Another, and Jay Kelly being amongst the borderline contenders opting to compete in the Comedy or Musical categories, to the point where those categories have actually become quite crowded with major contenders, and more competitive than we are used to be seeing at the Golden Globes.
This brings us to Is This Thing On?, the latest film from director Bradley Cooper, which tells the story of Alex Novak (played by Will Arnett), who tries his hand at stand-up comedy following his divorce from his wife, Tess (played by Laura Dern). In terms of the film’s tone, it is certainly the most comedic of Cooper’s directorial efforts, with the 12-time Oscar nominee directing himself in a supporting role as the comic-relief character, a pitiful actor known as Balls. While undoubtedly the film has its dramatic moments, and scenes that are comedic in set-up but not necessarily played for laughs, it is quite clearly a comedy, reminiscent of Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick, or Judd Apatow’s Funny People, which are also centred around stand-up comedians. However, it was announced a few weeks ago that the film will be competing as a Drama rather than as a Comedy or Musical for this year’s Golden Globes, a decision that has raised eyebrows from the film awards community but may end up being a smart campaign move.
Is This Thing On? is being released by Searchlight, and is one of the four films that they are campaigning for awards consideration this year; along with Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried, Hikari’s Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser, and Jay Roach’s The Roses, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. With all three of those other films competing in the Comedy or Musical categories at the Golden Globes, it could be the case that Is This Thing On? is competing as Drama to avoid splitting votes with those other contenders and to maximise their opportunities to gain nominations in the Motion Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress categories.
It is also being considered a strategic decision based on the strength of the Comedy or Musical categories this year, which, on paper, looks a lot stronger than previous years. For example, the runaway frontrunners in the Best Actor category, Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme and Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, are both competing in Comedy or Musical, in addition to major contenders Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), George Clooney (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia). This is similarly the case in Best Actress, where six of the top nine frontrunners for the Oscar (as of 19/11/25) are competing in Comedy or Musical, including Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good), Emma Stone (Bugonia) and Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You), allowing very little room for an outsider contender such as Laura Dern to be nominated. Instead, on the Drama side, there is more scope for both Dern and Will Arnett to be recognised in their respective categories, as currently only four of the expected ten nominees for the leading acting Oscars (Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura in Best Actor; Jessie Buckley and Renate Reinsve in Best Actress) will be competing in the Drama categories.
It isn’t even that uncommon for films about comedians to compete as dramas, so Is This Thing On?’s placement isn’t too outrageous in that respect. Dustin Hoffman in 1974’s Lenny, and Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin (1992) were both nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for their portrayals of real-life comedians Lenny Bruce and Charlie Chaplin, respectively, and Will Arnett could follow suit for his portrayal of Alex Novak, who is loosely based on real-life British comedian John Bishop. And while actors have gained success from competing in the Comedy or Musical categories for their portrayal of comedians, for example, Jim Carrey winning the Golden Globe for 1999’s Man on the Moon, Arnett’s portrayal being more centred around the human side of the character rather than as a performer stands in his favour in being taking seriously as a dramatic performance. Over the course of his television career, Arnett has mastered the ability to portray tragicomedy in his performances, notably in his voice performance in the titular role on Netflix’s BoJack Horseman. This role allows him to showcase his dramatic chops on the big screen, and he delivers an excellent performance that would be deserving of awards recognition.
Overall, while Is This Thing On?’s placement may be against the grain and be done purely from a campaign perspective of maximising the film’s chances of Golden Globe nominations while not limiting the opportunities for Searchlight’s other films to be recognised, it actually makes sense in what the film’s goal is or trying to be. Just as the film showcases funny moments, at its core is a story about divorce, family, and repairing broken relationships, and is therefore a more mature, adult film than audiences would expect if they were seeing it as a laugh-a-minute comedy, which it isn’t. Ultimately, it should work in their favour, and it would not be a surprise to hear Arnett’s and Dern’s names read out on December 8th when the HFPA announce this year’s Golden Globe nominees.
Joseph Trusson is a BA Graduate in Film and Television Studies from the University of Nottingham and an MA Graduate in Film Distribution and Marketing from Birmingham City University. He specialises in film awards analysis and hosts the Best Picture Must Be Doing Something Right Podcast, and is covering the 2025/26 Awards Season for Celestial Cinephile. You can find him on Letterboxd @JosephT.
