STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful
Following on from 2020, the year that changed everyone's way of existence, came 2021, that trailed in its aftermath. Opening in the throes of the second wave of the deadly pandemic, with everywhere forced to lock down again, after Trump's defeat in the presidential elections, scores of violent protesters descended on Capitol Hill, before Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president. A few months after, the world mourned the death of Prince Phillip, bringing the Harry and Meagan saga in to the spotlight, which is featured along with other pop culture/cultural events throughout the year.
After the tumultuousness of 2020, it seemed reasonable that it was the year of all years that people would want to see the back of. It had started like any other, but had proceeded in to a year of total devastation and uncertainty, and so a short, sharp satire entitled Death to 2020 seemed to everyone's mindset. 2021, though opening pretty despairingly, gradually grew more optimistic, and ended fairly positively, and so the novelty isn't quite as strong. All the same, this unexpected follow up film from Jack Clough and Josh Ruben still hits mostly the right notes.
There's a pretty obvious left wing slant to it, which will gain it detractors from those who lean to the other side, but it's swipes at the absurdity of the right and their insane conspiracy theories and behaviour are still right on target, most notably Tracey Ullman's conservative pundit Madison Madison, Cristin Millioti's detached soccer mom Kathy Flowers and Hugh Grant's turn as the stuffy, unprogressive Tennyson Foss (who's against gender pronouns, but still insists on having OBE on the end of his title!) On the other side of this is Diane Morgan's return as the dim 'average person' Gemma Nerrick, as well as Laurence Fishburne's soothingly deadpan narration. What's surprising is the major world events it omits, such as the World Cup, with England entering the finals.
It's not as inspired or cathartic as the first one, but it's still funny (sometimes hilariously so) and reminds us in the most uplifting way that the last year at times was just as terrible as the one before it. ***
Following on from 2020, the year that changed everyone's way of existence, came 2021, that trailed in its aftermath. Opening in the throes of the second wave of the deadly pandemic, with everywhere forced to lock down again, after Trump's defeat in the presidential elections, scores of violent protesters descended on Capitol Hill, before Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president. A few months after, the world mourned the death of Prince Phillip, bringing the Harry and Meagan saga in to the spotlight, which is featured along with other pop culture/cultural events throughout the year.
After the tumultuousness of 2020, it seemed reasonable that it was the year of all years that people would want to see the back of. It had started like any other, but had proceeded in to a year of total devastation and uncertainty, and so a short, sharp satire entitled Death to 2020 seemed to everyone's mindset. 2021, though opening pretty despairingly, gradually grew more optimistic, and ended fairly positively, and so the novelty isn't quite as strong. All the same, this unexpected follow up film from Jack Clough and Josh Ruben still hits mostly the right notes.
There's a pretty obvious left wing slant to it, which will gain it detractors from those who lean to the other side, but it's swipes at the absurdity of the right and their insane conspiracy theories and behaviour are still right on target, most notably Tracey Ullman's conservative pundit Madison Madison, Cristin Millioti's detached soccer mom Kathy Flowers and Hugh Grant's turn as the stuffy, unprogressive Tennyson Foss (who's against gender pronouns, but still insists on having OBE on the end of his title!) On the other side of this is Diane Morgan's return as the dim 'average person' Gemma Nerrick, as well as Laurence Fishburne's soothingly deadpan narration. What's surprising is the major world events it omits, such as the World Cup, with England entering the finals.
It's not as inspired or cathartic as the first one, but it's still funny (sometimes hilariously so) and reminds us in the most uplifting way that the last year at times was just as terrible as the one before it. ***