'Don't Look Up' film review: Wry, biting satire is somehow absurd ... and grimly grounded
The extinction-level existential threat to humanity isn't the scariest aspect of the seething satirical comedy 'Don't Look Up' (opening in select cities Dec. 10 and streaming on Netflix on Dec. 22).
In short: Low-level astronomers Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth. Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep also star.
Writer-director Adam McKay's latest dark comedy is a deeply frustrated and angry rebuke of modern anti-intellectualism ... dressed up as a disaster flick. 'Don't Look Up' is absolutely a direct response of shallow and easily amused modernity, borne from the real-world rejection of research and facts. Yes there's a mountain-sized comet headed right at Earth, but that's merely the plot device that powers the real conflict: scientists banging their heads against a wall in a futile effort to convince the world of an imminent, world-ending threat ... a world who either ignores them or doesn't take their warnings seriously. It's patently obvious McKay channeled some rage about climate change denial or pandemic denial into this script.
While 'Don't Look Up' seethes with contempt, McKay's film is a bit scattershot and unfocused, choosing to take aim at a general stupidity rather than taking precise aim against any one bit of stupidity in particular. McKay’s script is an omnibus manifesto against every matter of petty, shallow and thoughtless bit of modern life, from the trite talking points that snowball into trending topics, morning news shows light on news and irrefutable facts contorted into agitation propaganda. The "comet headed for Earth" could be swapped out for literally any existential, real-world threat - so in this regard, 'Don't Look Up' is a satire ... but it's a somewhat lazy satire. The most satisfying satirical works intertwine wildly hyperbolic scenarios with subtle, subversive commentary ... and there's absolutely nothing subtle about 'Don't Look Up.' Everything is too perfectly "on the nose," which impresses its themes, but borders on spoon-feeding the audience its thesis.
Take Meryl Streep's arch character - she's literally just a female Donald Trump, with Jonah Hill playing some hybrid of Donald Jr and Ivanka. Regardless of how any audience member feels about Trump, the reference is so specific and the performances are so broad that it actually undermines the film. And alienating the large number of Trump supporters does this film no favor - while this might amuse Never Trumpers, once right-leaning Netflix subscribers just get turned off by the overt anti-Trumpness then 'Don't Look Up' runs the risk of just preaching to the choir. This makes the film overall less effective than its potential.
For a film that's fundamentally very simple in structure, there's simply no call for the nearly 2 hour 20 minute runtime. The film could literally have made its same fundamental points and been more focused if it was leaner. For example, at one point a pop princess (played by Ariana Grande) performs a silly song to raise awareness of the comet ... and the song just keeps going ... and going ... and going. 'Don't Look Up' has a lot of fat that could have been trimmed - the totality of all this excess results in a movie that keeps getting bogged down. This movie is basically: scientists thwarted time and again by a society that prefers distractions over facts. The film could have more effectively made its point without so many bloated scenes and little moments that are slightly amusing, but don't add much to the film's commentary.
Although ‘Don’t Look Up’ is pitched as a comedy, it mines humor from topics so grim that the film isn’t funny as much as it is terrifying. And ‘Anchorman’ writer-director’s latest is sometimes hard to laugh at … because McKay’s script … is a bit too close to reality. The morning show co-hosts brushing aside the comet’s discovery as “science news” (they’re clearly unenthusiastic about discussing) while gushing over some celeb break-up gossip … only calls to mind when a cable news network interrupted a segment on NSA information gathering … for news of Justin Bieber’s arrest. ‘Don’t Look Up’ is quite effective in making its impassioned case about our priorities and inability (or unwillingness) to address dangers … but its lack of focus and bloated runtime muddle and sap the film from satire greatness.
Final verdict: If humanity somehow, someway, survives a comet smashing into Earth, then 'Don't Look Up' can be seen as a prequel to 'Idiocracy.' But McKay's script is so successful at painting humanity as stupid and recklessly selfish that it's hard not to root for the comet.
Score: 3/5
'Don't Look Up' opens in theaters Dec. 10 and streams on Netflix starting Dec. 22. This comedic satire has a runtime of 138 minutes is rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, graphic nudity and drug content.
