If anyone can put a humerous spin on the rollercoaster year that was 2020 it’s Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, and I have to say his satirical mockumentary Death to 2020 definitely delivers.

Given the sheer volume of unbelievable shit that happened last year, Death to 2020 ran the risk of becoming too crowded and depressing but Brooker’s choice to focus only on a couple of main events ; the pandemic and the American Presidential Election, gave the film a clear structure and flow. Don’t worry though, many of the year’s other crazy events are touched upon in the hilarious script including the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, the giant explosion in Beirut and the rise of the Karen and cancel cultures. And let’s not forget the many, many many references to Joe Biden’s longevity in years.

As well as the sparklingly witty script, the fantastic cast is what really makes this film shine, portraying a host of satirical caricatures of stereotypical characters.

Cristin Milioti, of How I Met Your Mother fame, delivers a perfectly dislikeable performance as American housewife Kathy Flowers, a veritable ‘Karen’ with not-so-subtle rascist undertones. On the other side of the pond, Diane Morgan (After Life) gives us the ditzy Gemma Nerrick, an everyday ‘off the street’ person who sometimes takes the Covid safety rules to the extreme and hilariously encapsulates struggles that anyone working from home will be able to relate to.

We also have Kumail Nanjiani as technology mogul and billionaire Bark Multiverse who, despite not having a huge amount of screen time, and delivers some of the best one-liners and the biggest laughs. Leslie Jones as a Behavioural Therapist who is just sick of the human race and frankly says everything we wish we could say to people around us.

The likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow, Laurence Fishburne and Joe Keery round out the star-studded cast but the one who really steals the show, just as he did in The Gentlemen, is Hugh Grant. The heart throb of the nineties is well and truly gone and Grant seems to revel in his role as history professor Tennyson Foss who, despite being at the forefront of his field, is a bit of twat and needs to take another look at his source material.

Now, Death to 2020 is not to everyone’s taste but if you want to take a retrospective look at the last twelve months and come away with a smile on your face then check it out.

Death to 2020 is now available to stream on Netflix.