The premise reminds me of something Kaufman would write and Gondry would direct. Perhaps if that were true it would be more sublime and enjoyable, but the reviews I keep reading seem detracted by the execution.
That's too bad because I like most of Alex Payne's movies, yet his body of work is rooted in mostly humanistic everyday reality scenarios NOT Science-Fiction.
In a way Payne is the ideal director to tackle this...
Instead of the sublime, or more commonly, the nihilistic and cynical takes on these kind of stories that we are used to by most sci-fi filmmakers, Payne bring his humanism, nuance and sensitivity to the topic in an organic and natural way... Not only do we get the sci-fi themes, but we also get an economic, social and political context... More importantly, we get a humanist approach in both the big picture way (caring for the less fortunate), but also in a smaller more initimate and personal level (various characters existential crisis, learning to connect with one another and finding meaning in our life rather than just trying tp prolong and maximise it and what we can acquire)...
The real way to assess how good this film is, is to compare it with the great number of movies, sci-fi and otherwise, that tackle the themes of the environment and our future as a species and consumerism and see how lacking they are in heart and humanism... It's as if they don't know what they are fighting for... Payne really stands out in this context...
Yeah, it's no About Schmidt, but it's an interesting and much needed addition to the sci-fi genre... Underrated for sure...