In the latest activist comedy from director Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short, and in a former life Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby), two American astronomers discover an approaching comet that will cause an “extinction level event” in six months. But when they try to sound the alarm and present the science, everyone from the Trump-like president (Meryl Streep) to the hosts of a hit cable news show (Tyler Perry and Cate Blanchett) to a profiteering tech mogul (Mark Rylance) to the Internet-addled, conspiracy-thirsty populace ignore, discredit, or exploit them. Whether you read this as a parable for societal dysfunction in the face of COVID-19 or climate change, Don’t Look Up aims to be a Dr. Strangelove-level satire—Network with belly laughs. But there’s a leanness to the best movie comedy that McKay’s filmmaking has lost as he’s engaged more directly with the “real” world. These are bloated exercises—in their concerns, narratives, and very form (we get another barrage of jump cuts, insert shots, and frantic stock footage). The comic setups take longer than they should, then the punchlines give you a violent bear hug when they should be lightly slapping you on the cheek before quickly moving on to the next gag. I did enjoy Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence’s lead turns as the scientists. He delivers an amusing, bumbling-professor routine, while Lawrence deftly handles the film’s best joke: her character’s obsession with the fact that a Pentagon official unnecessarily charged them for snacks at the White House. Does it say something that the funniest bit in Don’t Look Up is essentially a throwaway gag?
(2/3/2022)
