
We meet Kate Dibiasky, a brilliant semi-nerdy astronomy grad student who spends her days looking up into space.
One day, she accidentally spots a planet-killing comet the size of Russia, making a beeline for Earth. Oh sure, It’s Lisa Kudrow finally breaking out into a …
Wait. That’s not Lisa Kudrow in a for-sure Lisa Kudrow role. It’s Oscar star Jennifer Lawrence in a role as an astronomy student wearing a brown Gap sweater and a $15 haircut?
Yes, it’s Jennifer Lawrence, and good for her, showing us that she can take a Lisa Kudrow role and make it work. Plus, they name the damn thing after her, and she has some of the best and funniest porn lines in the film.
And is that our two-fisted urban hero Leonardo DiCaprio, who used to be the Great Gatsby, a con-wizard on Wall Street and who wrestled in the snow with grizzly bears?
Is that our blue-eyed Leo in those Goodwill jackets and awful ties, dollar-store glasses and runny nose?
Yes, it is. Leo is here as Dr. Randall Mindy, a role seemingly meant for the the wonderful Tony Hale (“Veep” bagman).
Still, the writer/director/producer Adam McKay (including “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”) has brought us a not-all-that-funny black comedy about the end of the world.
Does McKay end the world? I had to turn it off at a dinner party scene in the last 10 minutes because of a power outage.
I got the feeling McKay was going to pull a rug out from under us, but I can’t bet on it.
Is it worth watching? Why not? It’s a safe bet. It’s about the possible end of the world, featuring Di Caprio and Lawrence, with Meryl Streep thrown in as the crazy Sarah Palin President who sleeps with everyone but Putin, and I can’t be sure of that either, and who sends her boyfriend pictures of her … can’t use the funny word here.
And there’s Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry as two morning-show hosts in a couple of spots that are totally out of place, and only there because Blanchett is so terrific in the part.
The conundrum is this. Two scientists know that an asteroid is heading towards earth, and nobody will listen to them, not President Streep, who is trying to sneak out of a scandal about a Supreme Court Justice, or her smug son (Jonah Hill) even when all other scientists agree.
Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) is aboard as a new age trillionaire inventor. His inventions to stop the meteor give the film the best special effects of all.
Bottom line. “Don’t Look Up” is a very expensive piñata full of some of the biggest stars and best talents on the bulletin board.
Will you see it? Of course you will. You don’t even have to risk COVID-19 by going out in the snow to a theatre.
“Don’t Look Up” is right there on the screen in your living room on Netflix. Where else?
J.P. Devine of Waterville is a former stage and screen actor.
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