There are few better ways to describe 2020 other than “s**tshow.” Death to 2020 attempts to recount each of the seemingly endless number of travesties that have plagued the world throughout just one calendar year. A series of professionals do what they can to explain each of the major events of 2020 and bring to light just about every minor detail of what transpired throughout events such as the presidential election, the Australian forest fires, and the novel coronavirus. Sit back, relax and enjoy the veritable hell that was 2020.
Death to 2020 is both hilarious and infuriating. It manages to remain hilarious throughout nearly the entire production as it pokes fun at just about every aspect of 2020 and reminds viewers of the cringeworthy journey that they have all taken together. Racism, politics, the Coronavirus, and The Floor is Lava are topics covered throughout in raunchy, unapologetic fashion. Touching on these topics, however, is sure to ruffle some feathers and both antagonize and upset those bold enough to watch the mockumentary.
I don’t mind the political aspect of Death to 2020 as there is literally no way to avoid that conversation when discussing the past year, however, a political agenda becomes clear as the film progresses and becomes a bit distracting. It begins to overshadow the other, non-political content, and often annoys, to some degree, those whose opinions differ from the characters on screen.
Casting was nearly perfect as the actors involved, regardless of the fact that the testimonials occurring throughout Death to 2020 are overly and exaggeratingly fictitious, make aesthetic sense in their respective roles. Of course, there is truth to everything mentioned throughout the film as every recounted event played a significant role in the average person’s life throughout the course of the year. While the situations depicted are intense, the levity provided by characters like Dr. Maggie Gravel (Leslie Jones) and Bark Multiverse (Kumail Nanjiani) make everything a bit more relatable and acceptable. It can be difficult to relive past hardships, especially when dozens are thrown in your face at the same time, but the comedy present in Death to 2020 reflects, in many ways, meme culture, allowing viewers to reabsorb the provided information but in a fashion that allows them to remain somewhat sane. The information provided can (and probably should be) overwhelming to most, but, again, the fashion in which everything is presented to the world makes absorption and understanding far more possible.
To Death to 2020 nothing is sacred as it essentially annihilates every aspect of 2020 and leaves nothing to the imagination. As everything unravels and viewers are subjected to reliving the atrocity of 2020, something somewhat unique occurs, people are able to understand and appreciate (to a degree) what others think regarding these difficult times. Death to 2020 forces viewers to be open-minded and accepting as it makes fun of multiple political figures (and their followers), popular television shows, race, police brutality, and more.
For the most part Death to 2020 finds a balance between obnoxious and informative, but occasionally crosses the line into something despicable, lecturing its audience. While there is a lot to be learned from everything that took place throughout 2020, I can’t help but feel that viewers aren’t tuning in to be lectured about the events of the past year. While Death to 2020 is full of laugh-out-loud moments, there are certainly times when the film, its meaning, and the spot-on acting are well received, its tendency to lecture viewers causes the film to land somewhere in the middle of the road.
Directed by Al Campbell & Alice Mathias.
Written by Charlie Brooker, Annabel Jones, Tom Baker, Kemah Bob, Ken Bordell, etc.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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