Great flick? Nope: ‘Don’t Look Up’ is entertaining but flawed
All-star cast is fun to watch, but script is sketchy
HARK!
I hear…"after further review"…
After I posted a micro review of “Don’t Look Up,” several agreed with my “nice for the couch but not worth theater admission” take on the new flick, playing on Netflix as well as in theaters.
But quite a few people insisted I was far underrating it—that this was a terrific satire on modern society that some said they were watching repeatedly.
Hmmm….
Wondering if I missed something, I clicked it up and watched it again. I’ll offer my "after further review" (a la NFL refs) thoughts, but first, what I posted Dec. 30:
Micro review: "Don't Look Up" is a good Netflix clicker...but don't pay up for theater admission.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are amusing as two astronomers trying to warn social media/materialism-obsessed America about a comet that can devastate the planet. Writer-director Adam McKay is all over the place, swirling an all-star cast around a comic mash-up of "West Wing," disaster movies, YouTube/TikTok, etc.
Meryl Streep is minimally funny as an approval ratings-obsessed U.S. president, Johan Hill a boring dud as her chief of staff.
While Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande and other big names clutter the screen, English actor-playwright Mark Rylance steals the movie. He gives an off-handedly brilliant performance as a quirky, megalomaniac tech billionaire (Musk plus Zuck divided by Jobs).
If you go in with low expectations, "Don't Look Up" is as entertaining as any new flick (not much competition) on Netflix; but if you pay $10-plus at the movies, don't say you weren't warned...
OK, so after a second viewing….I’m sticking with my original take.
Fun cast, but "Don't Look Up" still feels a little too broad, a little too lowbrow, a little too…sketchy.
And there’s a reason for that: McKay started out writing sketches for “Saturday Night Live,” then broke into the movies making a string of dumb-comedy Will Ferrell flicks: “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights” and “The Other Guys.” To his credit, he shifted gears with savvy films “The Big Short” and “Vice.”
When DiCaprio and Lawrence are on screen together, with the focus on their confused anger over a lack of concern that THE PLANET IS ABOUT TO GET DESTROYED (read: climate change, anyone?), “Don’t Look Up” zips along and nails beat after beat. Both have great rage-out/meltdowns, with DiCaprio approaching the “mad as hell” crescendo of “Network.”
Speaking of which: writer Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet already dissected and lacerated the sensational, ratings-mad world of TV news; McKay doesn’t break much new ground here, with the subplot of Blanchett and Perry as silly, good-news-only morning show cross talkers.
Even worse, another sideshow centers around Grande’s character, a pop singer having a public breakup-to-makeup with a superstar DJ; insert whatever you want here, but it plays as boring and stupid. This and a ditzy skateboard/slacker (Timothée Chalamet, the suddenly-hot kid from "Dune") who becomes Lawrence’s love interest seem to be attempts to draw teen viewers…the very demographic click-baiting McKay tries to satirize!
The way a potential global catastrophe is politicized in this movie has promise…but McKay doesn’t dig too deep into that, probably for the best.
I’m sticking with my original assessment of the acting, generally quite good but with some serious problems (Hill is horrible).
I missed praising two: Rob Morgan, who was also really good as a cynical parole officer in Sandra Bullock's pretty-lame “The Unforgivable,” is wise and funny as Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe the head of Planetary Defense; and Melanie Lynskey is top-shelf as the wife DiCaprio ditches for Blanchett.
"Don't Look Up" cast at premiere (Getty Images)
The conflicting comments ("this movie was amazing, lots of quick wit and snark and i loved the whole thing" vs. "Not bad for a Netflix view, but glad I didn’t buy tickets and snacks to see it") to my Facebook post reflect a general split jury on this one.
According to the "Don't Look Up" Wikipedia page, though it received wildly mixed reviews, “the film was named one of the top ten films of 2021 by the National Board of Review and American Film Institute. It received four nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, and six at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture.”
What's your take? One of the best flicks of 2021....or Houston, we have some problems?
Click the comment button and give your take.