There could possibly be no more fitting option to end the 63rd New York Film Festival than with the selection of a New York–set romantic comedy with gravitas, yes, and also with the lightness of a crowd-pleaser. The festival’s closing night selection was the world premiere of Bradley Cooper’s new film as both actor and director, Is This Thing On?

Bradley Cooper is one of the most recognizable and attractive actors to have graced the big screen in the past two decades. Cooper, the director, is a more intriguing figure—a surprisingly innate talent right out of the gate. His first two intimate films, A Star Is Born and Maestro, were ambitious in craft and large enough in scale to make us pay attention (both were best picture Oscar nominees).

His new film is humbler and smaller. It doesn’t feel like a step back so much as settling in, as if he’s playing the long game. Cooper’s intuitive filmmaking is fixated on love stories deepening into tales about cracks in adult relationships. He has portrayed the tragedy of it, the drama of it, and now it’s time for the comedy of it.

The Novaks have decided to call it off after 26 years together. Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) still don’t seem to be in any rush for legal proceedings. (They are waiting to find the right moment to break the news to their two sons.) Alex has found an apartment in the city while the family home remains in the suburbs. The rocky start gives us initial snapshots of this awkward transition in their lives—it provides so much information and introduces so many characters in just a few minutes that you may get lost trying to figure out what’s going on. After a gathering with friends, Tess has stolen a weed-filled cookie and shares it with Alex while he keeps her company waiting for the train. He momentarily forgets that he’s not returning home with her and gets onboard, so the sadness hits twice as hard when he remembers he has to get off before it departs. As in every Cooper film so far, this one also features Matthew Libatique’s cinematography, filled with intimate close-ups and raw dynamism achieved through hand-held camera movements.

A bit high, Alex wanders around downtown and ends up entering a comedy club. Just to avoid paying the $15 cover, he signs up for a stand-up turn. This, and many other scenes, were filmed in the energizing environment of the Comedy Cellar with real comedians as his colleagues. Once on stage, Alex starts talking about his life—more concretely, about the bitter experiences post-breakup. He’s open, vulnerable, and occasionally funny—at least in a way that won’t get boos from the audience and earns chuckles of recognition. Maybe he’s not exactly an innate comedic talent—someone who’s the “finance guy” in any friend or family group (we never see him at his daytime job)—but from the start he manages more than well. So early on, Cooper has already given us a well-conceived sequence about performing as a transfixing experience, not unlike the “Shallow” scene (A Star Is Born) or the cathedral concert in Maestro. Here the craft is stand-up comedy, and the protagonist is not exactly an artist, but the goal is the same: achieving truth from within.

Keeping things balanced, we get enough glimpses of Tess dealing with her almost-divorce situation. Now a full-time mom, she’s a former Olympian volleyball player, and she’s considering returning to the sport as a coach. However, Alex is not entirely ready to stay away from Tess. Can they ever get back together? Well, you have an entire movie ahead to find out. But you know you’re going to witness the inevitable scene of Tess attending one of Alex’s comedy routines by accident—and she won’t laugh at first.

Cooper fills the world of the Novaks with people, places, and moments that give us enough clues about how definitive (or not) their separation really is. However, it’s obvious there’s not much room for anything else in what, at its core, is a solo outing with Alex in the spotlight first, and a two-hander second. Will Arnett and Laura Dern are splendid together in this kind of mature romantic comedy that doesn’t hit false notes. Arnett restrains his comedic talent to portray an ordinary man who discovers a new passion for comedy while still deeply in love with his wife.

A marriage in shambles, not yet hopeless. New York as the best possible live stage to start a new chapter. In broad strokes, that’s how we could sum up a movie that sounds conventional and predictable on paper—and to some extent it is—but that still has its own identity. Is This Thing On? might not be the funniest film this year (though there are chuckles in the nightclub scenes), but it’s certainly the most gracious romantic comedy you’ll get this season.