Don’t Look Up opened this last Friday in theaters with a big media push and I have some thoughts just based on what I know so far.
(RELATED: ‘The Expanse’ Season Six Has Begun!)
What do you think about a dark comedy about an impending comet strike hitting Earth as a metaphor for catastrophic Climate Change™? I mean, there’s no chance that it will be a ham-handed, tendentious and tedious lecture on the dangers of Climate Change and those idiot corporate tool Republicans, right?
He went on to say that originally the movie was an allegory for people ignoring climate change but that it also morphed into a commentary about people who don’t accept the vaccines and social distancing guidelines about the pandemic.
“This was originally a metaphor for the climate crisis, and then COVID hit. And then a whole new wave of denial of science. It was amazing to witness what was going on in real time as we were making this movie,” said DiCaprio.
If that weren’t enough, it’s co-written by David Sirota and Adam McKay and directed by McKay. Who’s Adam McKay? Well he’s a funny and talented Hollywood type who I first really heard of on the pages of Huffington Post with a “just asking questions” piece.
You might know him as Will Ferrell’s partner in comedy from Saturday Night Live through to films with Anchorman and Talladega Nights.
David Sirota is a far lefty reporter/activist who dabbles in comedy. He also earned the reputation as Bernie Sanders’ attack dog. But Sirota, to his credit, appeared on right-wing talk radio to talk politics and the Clinton’s conflicts of interest.
Oh, and it has Ron Perlman, Twitter’s fourth most demented Hollywood liberal after Rob Reiner, Bette Midler and either Arquette sister (you pick your fave!)
So. Will it suck? Well, as the Magic Eight Ball keeps hinting at me:
But not so fast. I mean all the signs are there: an assortment of activist/actors who strut their hypocrisy from environmental Leo’s yachts to feminist Meryl’s standing-O for a pedophile. And McKay seems to have a hard-on for the Murdochs (Succession executive producer), Fox News (Anchorman 2) and rednecks in general (Talladega Nights).
But McKay is very talented and does makes you laugh. Admit it. Even though Brick Tamland was retarded and ends up working for Republicans (ha ha ha! ’cause he’s stupid!) you laughed. You also were in stitches with the Southern Baby Jesus dinner table conversation.
And if there’s one thing conservatives are good at, it’s learning to take a jab in comedy as long as it’s not painfully unfunny (hi, Jimmy Kimmel!) or malicious (I see you Stephen Colbert!).
The movie will be released on Netflix December 24, so I might give it a hate watch and a Middle Aged Movie Reviews write-up. Keeping my expectations low and hoping to be surprised.