Don’t Look Up

Grade: A-

Writer/director Adam McKay has been working toward Don’t Look Up his whole career. After cutting professional ties with Will Ferrell (they collaborated on the Anchorman films, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys), McKay began tackling some more grown-up topics. I almost liked The Big Short, but didn’t. 3 years later, his Dick Cheney biopic Vice had enough gas in the tank and tricks up its sleeve for me to recommend it, but not love it. Now comes Don’t Look Up, which is a triumphant follow-through on the promise he showed with The Big Short and Vice. He has settled into a specific narrative style. Lots of irreverent humor. There may be some tangents, and fourth-wall breaking. Everybody’s speech is a bit heightened. People are always at the ready with the most perfect one-liner; nobody stutters, stammers, pauses, or has vowel movements. The conversation in the first scene in the Oval Office would never in a million years go down like that in real life. It’s a bit cute, but sure is a hoot.

McKay has populated – almost overflowed – Don’t Look Up with talent. There is a scene that consists of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, and Ariana Grande. Also in the cast is Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Himesh Patel, and Melanie Lynskey. Mark Rylance is unrecognizable and hilarious as an elderly eccentric billionaire scientist. He has slicked-back grey hair and a soft high-pitched delivery, and if you pay attention to his mouth when he speaks, you’ll see he rarely puts his lips together when saying words that begin with B, M, or P. Meryl Streep is the president.

Our main players are DiCaprio and Lawrence, two low-level astronomers from Michigan State University who discover a comet that is heading towards Earth with more than a 99% chance of wiping out humankind in 6 months or so – and are thrust into a giant media tour to warn everybody. This is the kind of biting satire and darkly funny, smart screenplay that made me think of Dr. Strangelove, or Sorry to Bother You. It’s almost literally a laugh a minute, and I sure did many times. The actors dig into their roles with commitment and the rhythm of their banter is impeccable. It’s the kind of movie that makes me with they’d give Oscars for ensemble acting. And this soundtrack had me whipping out my phone 5 or 6 times to Shazam. Normally when a filmmaker throws a large amount of some of the best music ever into their film, that’s an indication that they’re trying to compensate. Here, we have a movie equal to the quality of its soundtrack.

When it’s time for it to come up for air and become emotionally available, it does. Close to the end is where things falter slightly; it gets a bit drawn-out, and sticks its toe in the pool of excessive goofiness. There is a mid-credits scene that provides a helpful epilogue, and a post-credits scene which is silly and unnecessary. I think Don’t Look Up will stand the test of time like Ocean’s 11 (2001), in that it’s a hip, funny, cool, star-studded enjoyable cinematic experience that’s boundless with personality and is a hell of a lot of fun. You can put it on if you want to relax and just have a great ride. We all do see the same stars when we look up.

Grade: A-