“Death to 2020” Review: A mockumentary of 2020

A satirical mockumentary of one of history’s most eventful years, “Death to 2020” is an hour-long recap that nobody asked for of the year nobody wants to relive — and its creators seem just as over 2020 as the rest of us.

The movie’s bitter but unflinching commentary on the fever dream that was 2020 is its main draw-in, and what you should expect to see when you press play. But the depth stops there. It’s too obvious and unimaginative in its observations of politics as compared to “Black Mirror” — a thought-provoking science fiction series created by the same people who made “Death to 2020.”

The mockumentary retells the year’s events through a mixture of real-life footage and staged interviews with celebrity actors  — Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow and Leslie Jones — who play roles like a Facebook-obsessed soccer mom and the Queen of England. It’s painfully accurate in its commentary on American ignorance towards the rest of the world, the division of our country and the ridiculousness of our elections. That being said, this mockumentary is largely directed toward an American audience — consider it a callout.

Starting off with the American experience of 2020, the film then randomly switches to the British point of view throughout the retelling of the year — weaving in an average English citizen and even Queen Elizabeth herself, played by Diane Morgan and Tracey Ullman. Considering the film satirized Westerners for being ignorant of the rest of the world, I wondered why the mockumentary only used English-speakers to tell the tale of 2020 instead of bringing in the perspectives of people from other countries. It seemed strange that they mostly talked about the United Stated and England, but at the same time they made fun of Westerners for thinking the world revolves around them. It felt hypocritical to me and I would’ve preferred them to mention other countries more if they actually wanted to combat this ignorance.

In this mockumentary, the only hint of the dark humor similar to that in “Black Mirror” was its commentary on people or ideas that are rarely criticized. Nobody was let off the hook — they even mentioned the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s advocacy of a 600-mile gas pipeline through indigenous land, which is rarely mentioned alongside her many accomplishments as a feminist figure. 

My favorite joke was the comparison of the presidential debates to “a rap battle in a senior home, but worse.” The joke was followed by the clip of Trump and Biden jabbering off in incomplete sentences during the debate — it’s hard to disagree with the comparison.

Even though the faux documentary’s politically-incorrect jabs gave me some chuckles, I was disappointed that it was pretty unimaginative in its take on the world’s response to the events of 2020 — constantly recycling old-man jokes to describe president-elect Joe Biden. Instead of a fresh, laughable take on the year, it pretty much just reflected the ideas that circulated social media during each historic event. It was like watching a replay of all my sarcastic thoughts throughout the year, with a twist of it being carried out through random famous people. “Death to 2020” will make you laugh, but it won’t do much more than that.

*photo in featured image from imbd