Death to 2020 - A comedy TV special now streaming on Netflix

A comedy special dutifully dropped on the Netflix streaming platform to welcome 2021 with open arms. Death to 2020, is a TV comedy show created by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. Both are well known for their parts in the Black Mirror TV series. The 70-minute mockumentary is a jab at everything over and under the radar of the year just gone.

Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the film is collecting a wealth of scathing reviews from critics of Rotten Tomatoes. Reception is warming up from couch audiences. A fresh poke at all things 2020. The cast of Death to 2020 pops with big names like Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, and Tracey Ullman to name but a few.

Each familiar face assists in reliving the highs and lows of everything you could think of. In a combination of real-life footage and portrayals, people like The Queen, government spokespersons, scientists, YouTubers, and tech millionaires all get painted with a brush dipped in comedic sarcasm.

Everything in the comedy special is told in a no-holds-barred revival of cynicism and I for one am here for it. With as much venom as Sacha Baron Cohen donning a Borat suit but without dead monkeys, Brooker, Jones, and the 17 other credited writers dish up salty banter about things we as humans are probably still salty about. In addition, Samuel L. Jackson delivers spot information with a deadpan accuracy that certainly lifts this litany of news items.

Karens, Youtubers & Flossing

As a documentary about social media, the TV show covers all sides of the fence. It boasts impeachment trials, Australian wildfires, Greta Thornberg, and a string of everyday people commenting on things they know nothing about. A typecasted soccer mom, Kathy Flowers represents a string of racist ‘Karens.’ Situational gags are dropped in succession. She is shown making headlines for asking people of color for receipts for their belongings and accusing others of ‘wielding’ everyday items as if ready to attack. Nothing is off-limits.

Particular noteworthy performances are to be found in Lisa Kudrow’s Jeanetta Grace Susan character. Hugh Grant is brilliant and shown throughout the whole mockumentary as historian Tennyson Foss. He suggests that 2020 should be noted in crayons and written by a dog. It’s funny because it’s true. Bark Multiverse shows up to tell his story about supporting the pursuits of our young people by buying a mountain in New Zealand. And of course, there is so much Trump fodder to be found via various footage that just playing clips at the right time is enough to win the laughs.

Samuel L. Jackson stars in Death To 2020
Samuel L. Jackson stars in “Death To 2020”

Death to 2020, A Comedy TV Special on Netflix

Death to 2020 is a mockumentary for those who love to laugh at serious content ridiculed by its very nature of absurdity. The comedy mockumentary dishes out the giggles towards things that should be made fun of while showing restraint towards more serious items like the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead, there are moments where the facts are simply laid out before crossing to Gemma, some random woman at home. As a clip of the slave trader statue is pulled down, Gemma muses about whether the statue might drown. When informed that a statue can’t breathe, she retorts that it’s likely the statue is dead.

Forget the naysayers if you’ve caught some of them already. Watch it, if you’re a fan of laughing in the face of uncomfortable situations and putting the year 2020 behind us forever.

I give Death to 2020

4 Lab tests failed because the lab bat kept flying away out of 5

Mother of Movies score

Death to 2020 Trailer, Stream It Now on Netflix

YouTube video
Lisa Kudrow stars as Jeanetta Grace Susan in Netflix's Death to 2020
Lisa Kudrow stars as Jeanetta Grace Susan in Netflix’s Death to 2020
Death To 2020 Documentary About Social Media - Mother of Movies
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Director: Al Campbell, Alice Mathias

Date Created: 2020-12-27 10:23

Editor's Rating:
4

Pros

  • Death to 2020 is a no-holds-barred revival of cynicism about the pandemic of 2020.

Cons

  • Sometimes is a little too silly for it's own good.
Death To 2020 Documentary About Social Media - Mother of Movies
-

Director: Al Campbell, Alice Mathias

Date Created: 2020-12-27 10:23

Editor's Rating:
4

Pros

  • Death to 2020 is a no-holds-barred revival of cynicism about the pandemic of 2020.

Cons

  • Sometimes is a little too silly for it's own good.