The star-studded Netflix film Don’t Look Up opened Christmas weekend to mixed reviews. While many viewers raved about how they thoroughly enjoyed it, the voices of those who did not rang louder. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play two low-level astronomers who discover a massive comet that is heading towards Earth. The cast is stacked with names like Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Timothee Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, and Tyler Perry.
With an ensemble like that, how could audiences not love the film, right? It appears the average moviegoer tuned in based on who starred in the film but did not understand what the overall theme was. People took to social media to call it “boring” and “pointless”, but in reality, it pokes fun at what society deems important these days. Don’t Look Up isn’t a film meant to be action or drama-based, but rather a satirical comedy that has underlying tones. They poke fun at how the relationship between a pop star and a DJ gains more media attention than crucial life-threatening news. While it seems crazy, many from older generations find it to be spot on.
If you know anything about DiCaprio, one thing he is extremely passionate about is bringing awareness to climate change. The Oscar-winning actor managed to find a way to portray a character with similar interests and his performance doesn’t come off as an act at all. This may very well be the view of the world through Dicaprio‘s eyes, to a certain extent.
Regardless, the fact that this film garnered a 56% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes goes to show the concept may have gone over viewers’ heads. It’s tragic that such a well-put-together film and cast was widely misunderstood.
