With the help of NASA's Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), they first attempt to warn US President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her incompetent son, who also happens to be her Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill). They are more concerned with political optics than the pending doom hurling their way. The trio are forced to seek alternative methods for spreading the word.
They start with a morning talk show with cheery, sunshine hosts Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry) who try to give a positive spin to the whole gloomy tale of apocalyptic proportions. Some believe that the future of the planet is in danger. Others have decided to politicize the whole event to save face and encourage the population to just "Don't Look Up". Because if you can't see it, it isn't real.
Don't Look Up is a dark but silly satire written and directed by Adam McKay and is nominated for the Best Picture Oscar category. McKay is no stranger to absurd comedies having directed the Anchorman movies, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys. He's also quite familiar with the political dramedy genre with The Big Short and Vice under his belt.
In the preview of this Netflix original movie, the trio of astronomers drop the bomb of the comet to end the world in the Oval Office to President Orlean. Her inept decision is to "sit tight and assess". The astronomers repeat the phrase, astounded by what she just said. Chief of Staff Jason clarifies what she means. "The sit tight part comes first. And then you have to digest it. That's the assessment period."
Social media influencers share their own thoughts on the matter and their followers regurgitate their opinions and create opposing hashtag wars between #dontlookup and #justlookup. And, of course, as an added plot twist, billionaire tech mogul Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) and his team believe there to be trillions of dollars worth of important tech material.
Half a dozen years ago, this would have just been a smart, nonsensical satire like Mars Attacks meets Armageddon. Instead of aliens coming to a planet of nitwit, incompetent leaders, it's a comet. But considering recent political and global events, this one hits a little close to home. Things that were once absurdly blown out of proportion for comedic effect are now seen as, "Oh yeah, that's actually how our government works."
Don't Look Up looks to be a clever, poignant, dark satire with a wonderful cast that delivers a smart and funny performance in this film that would be ridiculously silly if it wasn't so plausible. I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest Leo fan. I didn't really care for him in any of his earlier works until The Departed, Inception and Django. Again, didn't care for him in Gatsby or Wolf of Wall Street or even Revenant. Here's the thing: I couldn't even really tell you why. I don't have anything against him, I just never really got the hype. But I really can't wait to watch Don't Look Up. And not in spite of Leo being in it, because of his performance in the previews. The story sounds smart and fun, the performances look spot on. I'm excited to see this movie and giving it a 4.0 Star Prediction. I think I'll thoroughly enjoy it and want to watch it again with a good chance of owning it in my personal collection. Am I right? We shall see.
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