Don't Look Up (2021) (Netflix)

Except if it is too similar to real life then it can't be "funny" any longer.

Totally disagree with that. The most funniest things, imho - the things that make me really belly laugh - are the things that manage to distil some kind of truth. Gallows humour, biting satire, farce, absurdism etc. - they're the things the jester dances around, telling truth to power. Great comedians have a knack of seeing things clearly - sometimes articulating a feeling we've always in some way registered but never been fully cognisant of. I love curb your enthusiasm, because Larry David just points out the absurdities of all those unwritten rules and petty hypocrisies we tend to get drawn into.

The biggest laugh I found in DLU was when the politicians told the crowd to not look up, not because it was aimed at a particular group - but because it was so absurd and totally something politicians of all stripes do all the time.
 
Met someone who was raving about the film today -judging by this thread it's one to watch for good or bad.
telling truth to power
-was luck enough to do a few skits with a professional stand up earlier in the year, he was big on picking up on and taking a sideways swipe at power. Have a lot of respect for how comedians work as it's a fine and sadly tolerance varies.
politicians told the crowd to not look up
Reads vaguely like Peter Cook's patriotic umbrella/ throw yourself over the cliffs of Dover to free up the job market thing in Whoops Apocalypse, sounds very funny ;)
 
Just seen it. A few laughs but mainly depressing. Political views aside, as entertainment it’s mediocre, despite some great performances.
 
We have a lot of books about the troubles here, and NI in general, that are funny. sometimes Funny is the only sanity
That is true of course. Dark humour or black comedy has always been a way to discuss subjects that are normally considered too painful to discuss.

I guess I just didn't find it that funny myself, and while that is only my own personal opinion, I think what I really object to most is this "Emperors New Clothes" idea that I must find it funny if I agree with it's political sentiments, or it's fabulous cast. However, I do feel a lot like that labourer who criticises the bard's work in the the new season of The Witcher and no, I could make anything nearly as good myself.
 
That is true of course. Dark humour or black comedy has always been a way to discuss subjects that are normally considered too painful to discuss.

I guess I just didn't find it that funny myself, and while that is only my own personal opinion, I think what I really object to most is this "Emperors New Clothes" idea that I must find it funny if I agree with it's political sentiments, or it's fabulous cast. However, I do feel a lot like that labourer who criticises the bard's work in the the new season of The Witcher and no, I could make anything nearly as good myself.
But there’s loads of people on the thread who didn’t enjoy it. Nothing is ever enjoyed by everyone. It’s been divisive in its likes and dislikes.
 
I'm afraid I neither found the satire particularly cutting, nor the humour very funny.
The only line to raise more than a smile, and then only a short snort rather than any really laughter, was "I believe that's called a bronteract". So not early in the film.
 
One of the problems I think the film has is that it will alienate the people it's trying to 'convert'. Reading interviews with the cast and production team, there's no doubt who the president et al were based on (I mean, the five o'clock shadow of the Chief of Staff and the caps are a bit of clue :D ). So whilst that makes the issue of which 'side' this film is based on clear, what it also does, is mock and foment more dislike against 'those' people.
 
One of the problems I think the film has is that it will alienate the people it's trying to 'convert'.
A succinct description of how Twitter etc works (or doesn't).

A large proportion of social media users seem convinced that insulting people is the best way to persuade them. Clearly, if they thought about this for more than a nanosecond, they would realise this is BS. Which leads to the observation (which many have made before me) that these political posts aren't made to convince the opposition, but just to get recognition from the poster's own tribe and bind it together with shared feelings about the "others".

It's basically going to end up with two sets of fortified trenches and a large stretch of shell-blasted no-man's-land in between. Except there won't even be the odd kickabout for Christmas.
 
A succinct description of how Twitter etc works (or doesn't).

A large proportion of social media users seem convinced that insulting people is the best way to persuade them. Clearly, if they thought about this for more than a nanosecond, they would realise this is BS. Which leads to the observation (which many have made before me) that these political posts aren't made to convince the opposition, but just to get recognition from the poster's own tribe and bind it together with shared feelings about the "others".

It's basically going to end up with two sets of fortified trenches and a large stretch of shell-blasted no-man's-land in between. Except there won't even be the odd kickabout for Christmas.
Worse than that, there's going to be a significant number caught in the trenches, being hailed on from both sides, for daring to be moderate
 
Watched it last night and thought it was good with a few proper laugh out loud bits.
The one problem I have with this SF writing hobby is that it's hard to switch off and not pick up on how a plot is working. Thought the SF part fizzled out, it just didn't seem to ratchet up enough tension. There were sort of arty segments cut into the film (time square/ a hummingbird feeding etc. ...trying not to do a spoiler) -I think they might have taken some of that sting away.
Good fun though.
 
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

I watched it twice, first time on my own then a few days later with the Mrs. After the first watch I wasn't sure, there are a few scenes which are gut-churningly bad for me, the worst being the speech praising 'stuff', just cringeworthy IMO. But after the second viewing, with a little on-the-fly editing, I thought it was good, very good, albeit with a few warts. I really warmed to and cared for the main characters by the end and must admit I welled up with tears as we saw the various clips of wildlife and humanity just before....

There were some funny scenes, but it was a bit depressing TBH. Underneath the jokes, the portrayal of how useless we are when it really matters was far too close to the bone. Oh, and I thought the Peter Isherwell character was superb, now he WAS funny. :)

Incidentally, if you blow up a comet from the inside, won't all the pieces just fly off in all directions at great speed, making any attempt to recover them impossible?
 
Liked it. Some of the situations that were obviously supposed to be funny were actually depressing, but I think the main characters' acting carried the weight and made it enjoyable. J.Law's outburst at one scene proxied my feelings perfectly, and Leo's same at a later scene perfected it.

Of course, all the time I wanted nothing more than grabbing the antagonists by the neck and snapping them in half (except for Jonah Hill's character, of course; seems out of my weight class), but isn't that negative feeling what the filmmakers intended to happen?
 

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