Laura Dern told us the two questions every divorced woman asks themselves.

Laura Dern knows her latest movie is going to hit every divorced woman — especially the ones at a crossroad — right in the collective feels.

Directed by Bradley Cooper, Is This Thing On? is a beautifully poignant drama starring Will Arnett as Alex, a middle-aged man navigating a separation from his ex-athlete wife, Tess, played by Oscar-winner Dern.

Alex accidentally stumbles into the New York open-mic comedy scene, where he starts to use the stage as a confessional for his failing marriage. Meanwhile, Tess is forging her own path away from being a wife, mother and former Olympian.

Co-written by Cooper, Arnett, and Mark Chappell, the film is loosely inspired by the true story of British comedian John Bishop, who famously started stand-up to save money on a night out while estranged from his wife, Melanie Bishop.

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In an exclusive interview with Mamamia, Laura Dern told us she met the woman her character was loosely based on.

"I got to be with Mel Bishop and hear just the woman's side of the journey. It was amazing and they are amazing. And just the mere idea that John found his way to stand-up in the exact way the movie explores and the split precipitated it all," Dern said.

"It's so fun and irreverent because only life can happen like that, you know? It's great."

Dern is especially excited to see audiences embrace Will Arnett, an actor more known for his zany comedy characters than his more dramatic roles.

"He's a genius who just needed to have the opportunity to reveal all that he is. I was such an admirer of Arrested Development, and I thought Will in that show was devastating, hilarious, broken, brilliant — all the things of a great actor," she said.

Image: Searchlight Pictures.

"The vulnerability that he offered not only the film and Bradley, but me as his partner in this. We did a workshop. We spent so much deeply honest time committing to knowing each other the way we would if we'd spent 25 years together. And we did. I'd never had that with a partner on a movie. It was an incredible gift."

The film was a collaborative process from the outset. Dern was asked by Cooper whether she was interested in doing the film even before the script was finished.

The Oscar-nominated director asked Dern "Do you want to come on board as we find Tess, and then we find the relationship?" she recalled Cooper asking. "Inviting me into the process of that discovery was incredible."

Cooper personally asked Grammy-award winner and Oscar nominee, Andra Day, to play another lead, Christine, who played Cooper's character Balls' wife.

"It was very surreal. He's so funny, he's so humble about it, and he was like, 'I wasn't sure if she wanted to do it.' I was like, 'Are you joking me?' Of course," Andra Day told Mamamia.

"He's not just an amazing actor, right? That alone would have been enough, because I'm a huge fan of all of his work…. to know him as a filmmaker, as a director, this is a visionary."

Image: Searchlight Pictures.

Day credits working with Dern as another huge drawcard to do the project. Playing besties in the film, the two quickly became inseparable on set.

"We're really on that bestie level with each other, whether the camera was rolling or whether it wasn't rolling. I keep telling her that you're really a gift to this craft," Day said. "I have an actual friend in her, which is kind of funny because she's incredible."

Dern agrees the film is extra special because of the friendships formed and fortified during filming. "We love the whole experience. It means so much to us. It feels personal given our friendships," the actress said.

Is This Thing On? feels especially pertinent to Dern as she helped shape her character. "It's not that there's me in it, but there's a character in it that we all wanted to explore," Dern said. "There are things I connect to or relate to, but she's very different than anyone I am or have been."

That said, Dern 'a million percent' agreed that she connected to Tess wanting to forge an identity off the back of divorce.

"I think any woman can connect to… who am I separate from my child or career or being this parent or partner? Who am I when it gets really quiet and I'm left with myself?"

Dern has had her own experience with a long-term relationship ending. The actress' divorce from her musician ex-husband, Ben Harper, was finalised in 2013. The couple married in 2005 and share two children.

Some of her other famous exes include Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan and Billy Bob Thornton.

"My God, how life defines us: the grief, longing and heartbreaks and all the things we go through," Dern said.

"We have to continue to get to know ourselves. If we don't, how could we be in a sustaining relationship? And that's what the movie really looks at."

Image: Searchlight Pictures.

For Day, she connected to the film showcasing the individual stories of how relationships can break and rebound. "I like that it deals with us as individuals within the context of marriage. Sometimes we can reconcile and find our way back to each other through finding ourselves."

This movie is all about sending a message of instilling hope back into the messy aftermath of divorce.

"There are a good amount of stories that deal with marriage or deal with divorce. But I think what struck me when I read the script was how genuinely sweet the movie actually is. I like that it has a hopeful… without feeling sappy," Day said.

Dern agreed the film is hopeful and life-affirming without coming across as overly sentimental and cheesy.

"It's not so hard-hitting that you're a bit exhausted by it, you know? I love the humour of it and the grace that's embedded in it," Dern said.

"We just want other people to connect to it because it feels hopeful."

And in 2026, the concept of hope is nothing to laugh at.

Is This Thing On? premieres in cinemas across Australia from February 5.

Feature image: Searchlight Pictures.