Don't Look Up (2021)

A Ph.D student (Jennifer Lawrence) in astronomy discovers a new comet. When she brings this to the attention of her professor (Leonardo DiCaprio), they discover that the comet is on its way to a collision with Earth which will result in total devastation of the planet. Written and directed by Adam McKay (THE BIG SHORT), this all star apocalyptic black comedy isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is. It's the spawn of such loud and hysterical satires as DR. STRANGELOVE and NETWORK (DiCaprio even has his "I'm mad as hell" moment) and if you think those films are good movies then there's every chance you'll embrace this one too. I'm not a fan of those movies and I found DON'T LOOK UP heavy handed. A one joke premise that exhausts itself by the midway point yet it goes on for over another hour. It's an unbearably self-congratulatory satire with unpleasantly cartoonish characters that might have made for an amusing 15 minute Saturday Night Live sketch but it's painful to watch good actors descend to caricatures. This may be Meryl Streep's worst performance since IRONWEED and it's a career low point for most of the other actors too. While I appreciate what the film is trying to say, one can just as easily turn on CNN or Fox News to see the real life absurdity of the world today, far more horrifying than what McKay offers us. The massive ensemble cast includes Cate Blanchett (the only performance I liked), Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Chris Evans, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Melanie Lynskey, Rob Morgan and Sarah Silverman.