Idiocracy (2006)

*

Throughout the nineties Mike Judge proved he could make versatile comedy across multiple genres. Office Space was a cult classic, smart, and satirical. Beavis and Butthead was the complete opposite, the ultimate display of immaturity that used its stupidity as genius comedy, and King of the Hill was a mainstream comedy that is still in syndication. Idiocracy, which has garnered a respectable cult following as it has lingered in Hollywood purgatory for years, is none of the above. Absolutely nothing is smart about Idiocracy, the stupidity is not funny, and after not being released in theaters or distributed by any major film company, it is unlikely to ever gain a mainstream audience even on DVD. The premise of Idiocracy is in itself brilliant. Joe Bauers, played by Luke Wilson, is the most average human being on earth. As part of a U.S. army experiment he is frozen to be re-thawed a year later, but actually is not rethawed until over 500 years later. In the distant future, 500 years of evolution has selected for an incredibly stupid human race and Joe finds himself as the smartest human being on earth. Maya Rudolph plays a prostitute who is also a part of the experiment. Wilson and Rudolph are painfully not funny especially when they are on the screen together. Dax Shepard plays one of the humans of the future and talks in an awful future "hick, ebonics, valley girl" combination accent that is way more annoying than funny. Where Office Space was the perfect satire of life in the cubicle, Idiocracy completely whiffs at the chance to poke fun at the increasing stupidity of the human race. Occasionally there are a few fart jokes or plays on four letter words that get a chuckle, but as a full length feature, the film falls flat on its face. I'm not sure what Judge was thinking, and I see myself for the first time siding with the film companies. This should not have been released and needed major work, probably a hit of the reset button. Its a shame such a great idea is wasted on a terrible plot with a funny joke every 30 minutes.

Good For: people who liked Norbit, Beavis and Butthead (themselves)

Bad For: people with a double digit IQ, people with hobbies/friends/relatives

The Gallery
The Economist: *
The Film Maker: * * *