Don't Look Up

“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Adam McKay and his cast of A-listers swing for the fences in this super-duper pointy sharp satire of media culture in a time of worldwide disaster. The premise is worthy and the attitude is poignant. Efforts to goof on specific people sometimes tank, like Mark Rylance’s over-cooked, narcissistic billionaire. The plot and story are distracted by the personal relationships and marital affairs, which seem pointless and dull compared to the comet hurling towards Earth, but maybe that’s the point. This mines laughs as much as it bombs, but it gets an “A” for trying; and taking the piss out of us for being so apathetic. I wonder: was Dr. Strangelove considered so implausible at the time?