Video review: 'Downsizing' doesn't go for easy laughs

March 17, 2018 at 5:27AM
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Hong Chau, left, and Matt Damon appear in a scene from "Downsizing." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
Hong Chau and Matt Damon in “Downsizing.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Let's get small

"Downsizing" (⋆⋆⋆½, rated R) is a surreal comedy that never goes for easy laughs. Alexander Payne's story paints a near future when researchers have discovered how to reduce a human adult to just 5 inches tall. It's a win-win: Smaller humans consume far less and can live like royalty in dollhouse-sized mansions. Married couple Paul and Audrey (Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig) are intrigued by the pitch. But Paul learns that social and personal problems don't vanish from his Lilliputian life.

COLIN COVERT

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