Adam McKay built his initial career on hard/sketch comedy as head writer on SNL and writer/director of films like the Anchorman series. Then he switched gears with The Big Short, which was a comedy/drama grounded in factual history. He followed that up with Vice, in the same vein. Now with Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay attempted to change speeds again by making a satire. I think how effective you find the satire will depend on how fatigued you are by our current world. And how much doom scrolling you’ve done, especially since March 2020. This project may have been envisioned before the pandemic, but our view of it can’t help but be coloured by the events of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the reaction of the characters in the film to news the comet is going to kill them, intended to be satirical, comes off too real in light of seeing people on a grand scale being asked to do their part to try and save their fellow man and many refusing or needing a carrot, to do the bare minimum (I’m thinking of the hoarding of vaccines by countries and then seeing people in some of those countries still refusing to get vaccinated that they attempt to bribe people with things like free weed or even cash).
That’s not to say there aren’t things to love about the film. I loved the little character and visual touches, like the custom Carl Sagan action figure, and I wished it had made a reappearance at the end of the film. Meryl Streep’s line reading of “good for you” almost made me fall out of my seat. The “fireworks challenge” was the perfect encapsulation of stupid that people get up to for likes on social media. And the idea that for the mission to deflect the comet instead of it being unmanned, which was completely possible, they had to put someone in one of the rockets because America needs a hero – that may have been my favourite bit. Or perhaps the obsession of Kate Dibiasky (played by Jennifer Lawrence) over being charged by General Themes (played by Paul Guilfoyle) for free snacks.
As someone that lives in this world, and saw the fanaticism that surrounded Dr. Fauci, the storyline for Dr. Randall Mindy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), which had him rise to national recognition as America’s Sexist Scientist, not only makes sense but seemed very in line with reality. While DiCaprio has never been crowned “Sexist Man,” he was a teen heartthrob. In fact, if they wanted the satire to work better here, they may have been better if they left him with the beard (which was so bad I assume was fake because it was so bad) that he wore for the first act of the film.
I do enjoy when films have fun with their credits, and this film uses bold graphics and plays with how it displays the casts’ names. However, the best use of play may be the inclusion of “Bash Original Content” in the opening credits, something you might not even notice if you aren’t paying attention.
The satire is the clearest when the reason/meaning behind the title of the film is made clear.
As a huge TV fan, one who is currently obsessed with both Yellowjackets and Station Eleven, I got excited to see both Melanie Lynskey and Himesh Patel in the film.
If you watch, be aware there’s a mid-credit and a post-credit scene.
Don’t Look Up is available on Netflix.