In Netflix’s star-studded satire Don’t Look Up, there’s a clock ticking down to the end of the world, courtesy of an approaching comet big enough to destroy Earth. But even amid such existential stakes, a group of small-town skaters can’t help but assume that the wealthy elite are still two steps ahead. The world might be ending, but the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent will find a way to escape certain doom, even if it means leaving Earth behind in a spaceship. “You guys, the truth is way more depressing,” PhD candidate Kate Dibiasky (played by Jennifer Lawrence), who originally discovered the fateful comet, tells them. “They’re not even smart enough to be as evil as you’re giving them credit for.”
Indeed, from the halls of the Oval Office to a conference room with a disarming tech mogul, Don’t Look Up paints a grim portrait of insatiable greed and boundless stupidity: a climate change allegory that feels even more resonant in light of the ongoing pandemic. Given its politically relevant subject matter and ridiculously stacked cast—J-Law is joined by [deep breath] Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Chiklis, Scott Mescudi, and Ariana Grande—Don’t Look Up is perfectly engineered to generate award-season buzz. But while Don’t Look Up has all the hallmarks of typical Oscar bait, the film is also an unmistakable product…
