classicsoncall Review of Death to 2020

Death to 2020 (2020 TV Special)

"2020, a year so momentous it had to be named twice."

[7/10 · 2 January 2021]

From the folks who brought you 'Black Mirror', this is an often hilarious mockumentary outlining the fits and foibles of the year just past, one which we all hope to forget very soon. It doesn't follow the typical 'Black Mirror' style, if there is such a thing, in as much as just about every line of dialog or narrative is done in a humorous vein, while taking potshots at both sides of the political spectrum. I can generally handle it when 'my guy' is dissed as long as the 'other guy' gets the same treatment. Some will counter that the resulting outcome wasn't even handed, but even so, both libs and conservatives were skewered pretty well here. Sometimes the jokes got a bit tired, but what the heck, you can put up with it for the mere seventy minute run time the picture delivers. I didn't realize it was Hugh Grant ahead of time when he came on screen as critic Tennyson Foss; he had some clever quips and rejoinders for the interviewer off screen. Samuel L. Jackson, who I swear is just about in everything that comes out these days, was very much channeling his own personal opinion most of the time, while Lisa Kudrow offered up an even more ditzy blonde interpretation of her character form "Friends". This may not have been the best way to remember the year of Covid-19, but it is one of the funnier ones. If you can remove your ideological hat for a brief hour or so, this ought to provide a laugh or two.