Parents' Guide to Don't Look Up

Adam McKay's clever doomsday satire is hilariously terrifying, a serio-comedy that's intended to shake viewers out of their seats. It's not as zippy as his The Big Short or as preposterously believable as Vice. But once you fully appreciate that this is an earnest endeavor, it makes sense. As a piece of entertainment, the tone is heavy-handed, but as a desperate plea for change, it's perfect.

In Don't Look Up's bizarro world, we recognize the upside-down characters who are pretty close to the real thing. For example, Streep plays a narcissistic president whose top aide is her son, and Grande is an exaggerated version of herself. But Lawrence's Kate is meant to be the relatable person that viewers can identify with, especially teens. She's just a grad student who happened to be in the middle of her shift at the school planetarium when she spotted the comet. Along with Dr. Mindy (DiCaprio is brilliant as an anxiety-ridden instructor), she tries to alert authorities about the impending world-ending natural disaster in the hopes that it can be prevented -- and is rightfully aghast at the lack of concern she encounters at every turn. What Kate and Dr. Mindy experience is humorously outlandish, and yet, like all good comedy, it's funny because it's painfully true. But good comedy can also help medicine go down. The writers' mantra "show, don't tell" is used here incredibly effectively -- but will it be enough to get viewers to insist on change?