Don't Look Up 2021
I haven’t been as crazy about Adam McKay’s political movies as some, particularly relating to The Big Short and Vice. He has some fun with the subject matter, but in the end doesn’t say that much. This movie actually has a better message, ostensibly about people warning a comet is about to hit Earth, a metaphor for global warming. But the characterizations are a little too easy, making fun of the media, science deniers, and their corporate overlords. But this was comedy that was on TV every day (at least every late night) during the Trump administration, so this movie doesn’t really add anything that hasn’t been beaten with a stick for quite a while now. Still, there are some good characters and writing at work, even if the politics are a little stale. The cast features some really big names, like they made the movie at an Oscars after party, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Mark Rylance who have all won Oscars for acting (Jonah Hill and Timothee Chalamet were only nominated). In this movie they mostly overact, but they are really good at that too. The movie isn’t necessarily clever, but it is almost always entertaining. Keep your expectations low and you could enjoy the farce and the topical jokes. The premise of the movie can’t really sustain itself for the entire movie, so it does lose some steam before a big ridiculous finish.
Written: 23 Feb 2022