DON’T LOOK UP

DON’T LOOK UP is a bitter satire about the folly of Humanity when two scientists discover a world-destroying comet is headed directly toward Earth, but the American government, the nations of the world and people are too preoccupied with polls, greed, division, celebrity, gossip, ignorance, and their own apathy and skepticism to stop it. Told in a broad comic style, DON’T LOOK UP attacks people’s obsession with trivial matters like the latest gossip about big celebrities, but much of its satirical anger is also directed at conservative Trump-style populist politics and people who doubt the science behind things like apocalyptic climate change or COVID-19 protocols, and the movie has many “f” words, some strong profanities and extreme nudity in one scene, though one minor character is a Christian who prays twice to God but without mentioning Jesus.

The movie opens with a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University, Kate, discovering the comet in the college’s big telescope one late night. The head of the apartment, Dr. Randall Mindy, is excited about the discovery, but when they calculate the comet’s trajectory, they discover it’s headed straight for Earth. They try to tell the self-absorbed President of the United States about the planet killing comet, but she and her loopy son, whom she’s appointed Chief of Staff, don’t believe Kate and Randall because they don’t come from an Ivy League school.

However, the head of the federal government’s asteroid and comet disaster division at NASA, believes them, even though the President was skeptical about his advice too. He suggests they go on a popular news program called The Daily Rip, hosted by a black anchorman and a beautiful blonde anchorwoman, similar to Joe Scarborough and his wife, Mika, on MSNBC, but unmarried. Kate and Randall are totally frustrated because the two hosts are totally clueless about the threat imposed by the comet. The black anchorman is obsessed with gossip more than science, and the woman wants to flirt with Randall, even though he’s married with two sons. Kate loses her cool and starts screaming about the threat of the comet poses, and they lose credibility.

A few days pass, and Kate and Randall get a call from the President. Apparently, she’s gotten confirmation about the comet’s trajectory toward Earth from Ivy League professors. So, she asks Kate and Randall back into the White House. Kate is still angry at the stupidity around her, so they arrest her and force her to agree not to talk about the comet publicly anymore. With Randall’s help, the government begins to develop a plan to change the comet’s trajectory and make it less dangerous by sending nuclear missiles to blow up parts of it. The President appoints a crazy general to lead one of the rockets on a suicide mission. Meanwhile, Randall leaves his wife for the blonde anchorwoman.

The day of the launch, however, the President’s biggest donor, the second richest man in the world and the tech guru behind a feely touchy smartphone, throws a monkey wrench in the plan, for his own benefit. The President decides to go with his plan.

As the comet finally becomes visible in the sky, the people around the world start to panic. What if the new plan doesn’t work?

DON’T LOOK UP is a bitter satire about human stupidity, ignorance, greed, and people’s obsession with trivial matters, like gossip about the behavior, fashion, romances, and marriages of big celebrities. It also satirizes big government bureaucracy and feckless political leaders and media people. However, much of its satirical anger is aimed at conservatives. Toward the end, the female President becomes a Trump-like caricature. She even has a rally where her supporters chant, “Don’t look up,” and wear hats saying, “Don’t look up,” to silence the voices, including Randall’s voice, warning about the comet’s final approach.

DON’T LOOK UP also contains abundant “f” words and some strong profanities. In addition, one scene typing up a loose end at the end shows totally naked men and women.