Don’t Look Up

Don’t Look Up (2021)

In the last few years writer/director Adam McKay has been somewhat of an Oscar golden boy. And it seems to really divide people. Actual critics seem livid about it. I on the other hand have thoroughly enjoyed his recent Oscar hits; 2015’s The Big Short about the crash and political satire Vice in 2018. He gets criticised for treating his audience like morons. Well, this may come as a shock to some, but most people do need things spelling out for them. Seriously, just look at the state of the world. Sometimes a little spoon feeding is necessary.

Which brings us to Don’t Look Up. A film celebrating (ridiculing?) how quick people are to look the other way in order to maintain the status quo.

Two scientists discover a fatal comet heading to Earth and they try in vain to alert those in charge. And that is the plot. But the film explores the sheer frustration and lunacy of a world not willing to listen. Or perhaps, a collective just hoping the problem will go away.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play the aforementioned experts. Both are a joy to watch as they are thrust onto a celebrity platform; each one exhibiting different strategies  to cope with the attention.

Meryl Streep deliciously plays the American President as an unimpressed petulant teenager with Jonah Hill being equally juvenile as her son. A clear swipe at President 45 and his unorthodox office of family members. Hill absolutely steals every scene he is in; He’s vile but genuinely wonderful. Same can be said for Cate Blanchett’s TV host; an apparent vacuous blonde with dazzling veneers who hides the fact she’s a cultured, well-travelled raconteur.

Performances aside highlights include the family dinner scene (just exquisite) and Jennifer Lawrence’s running gag about the FBI agent who charged them for a snack is a rewarding hoot.

I can always recommend shaving off a good 30 minutes from most films but I’d be bold here and trim this down to 90 minutes and you’d have yourself a classic. There’s just no need it in being so long. In 1995 The Simpsons managed to tell the same story in 22 minutes with Bart’s Comet. No excuse.

7 ExasperatingThumbs Up 👍🏻