Downsizing (2017) **1/2 [Payne Train Pt. 7]

Bringing up the caboose of this "Payne Train," Downsizing (2017) is a weird film to review, as it's so clearly an outlier in Alexander Payne's filmography (outside of the “middle aged – elderly man self-actualizing” theme common in his work). Many times when filmmakers attempt these ambitious "big picture" pictures they end up as mixed bags, and that is the case here. A number of people have criticized the film for being racist but I didn't get that impression—Hong Chau's broken English isn't played for laughs and the funny parts are due to her delivery, not her accent. She also provides two of the film's best moments. Christoph Waltz is, as always, amusingly smarmy. Matt Damon is...Matt Damon. Kristen Wiig's role is thankless. Udo Kier is wasted via too little screen time. Downsizing isn't a bad movie, per se; it's just overlong, a bit lackluster, and not funny enough. I would have preferred a more satirical version of the film’s cool concept—which was ripe for parody—instead of this shrug-worthy life-affirming slow burner.

Alexander Payne Feature Films Ranked