Idiocracy (2006)

Directed by: Mike Judge
Starring: Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard

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Fast-Food Dispenser: Welcome to Carl's Jr. Would you like some big-ass fries?

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Idiocracy opens with a compelling argument that natural selection no longer favors the most intellegent of our species by comparing a genius yuppie couple who continually come up with valid reasons for putting off a family ("With the market the way it is right now, it just wouldn't make fiscal sense to have a child") with a redneck moron named Clevon who procreates at an alarming rate (when his wife announces she's pregnant again he slams his beer on the table and angrily yells "Another kid? I thought you were on the pill and shit."). And so, after the absolutely average Private Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson) gets cryogenically frozen for 500 years, it makes perfect sense that he'd be the smartest man on the planet.

Once Wilson gets to the future, Judge riffs for a while on ignorance-related humor: the #1 TV show is called "Ow, My Balls"; a movie called 'Ass' (a movie that consists solely of a closeup on a naked, farting ass for 90 minutes) just won 8 Oscars, including best screenplay; rampant corporate branding has resulted in Carl's Jr. tattoos, NASCAR-esque ad-covered clothing, and characters with names like Frito, Tylenol, and Judge Hank "The Hangman" BMW; a billboard for cigarettes reads: "If you don't smoke Tarrltons... Fuck you." Sure it's essentially a series of gags, some of them are pretty damn funny.

Eventually a 'plot' emerges (Wilson becomes Secretary of the Interior and has to solve the future's crop/dustbowl/economy problems) but even that is an excuse for more 'stupidity is funny' jokes. Judge's Office Space buddies David Herman (Michael Bolton) and Stephen Root (Milton) show up for minor, but enjoyable bit parts. Dax Shepard is funny as the dim-witted Frito, attorney-at-law, as was (to my surprise) Maya Rudolph.

Wilson, as Secretary of the Interior, inspects the dying crops with Frito

I saw the movie with my wife, who has an uncanny ability to sum up any movie we watch in a sentence or less. As the credits began to roll, she turned to me and simply said "Funnier than Beerfest." And she's right. While Idiocracy isn't as inspired as Clerks II or Little Miss Sunshine, it's got some genuinely great moments. There's a particuarly hilarious joke involving a Costco greeter that I'm going to laugh about every time a corporate employee greats me with "Hi, welcome to [Insert Store Name]." I know that I laughed more during the first two-thirds of this movie than in Beerfest, Accepted, and Click combined.

Sadly, apart from a charismatic appearance by Andrew 'The Third' Wilson as a famous Rehabilitator (read: gladiator) named Grande Supreme, the final reel of the movie kinda peters out. Still, there's enough funny details hidden away in Idiocracy that it'll pick up a good-sized following on DVD (just like Office Space).

The Presidential Motorcade, led by wrestler-turned-politician, President Comacho

This movie has famously been shelved for months. 20th Century Fox wasn't even going to release it until last week, and now has only approved limited screenings in 6 US cities and Toronto. Nobody knows for sure why this movie's been getting such a snowjob, but it likely has to do with one or more of the following:

:: Judge pulled a Troy Duffy and pissed some bigwig off - This doesn't seem too likely, as Judge is said to be a very amicable guy.
:: One or more of the corporations that Judge skewers by name got pissed and pulled some strings - Could be. Judge takes a particuarly harsh stab at Fox News.
:: The movie frequently uses the word "faggy" as an insult - Maybe, but when did a little thing like bad taste prevent a studio from releasing a film?
:: Somebody at 20th Century Fox is an idiotic fuckwad - Hey... maybe I'm on to something.

Here's an Esquire interview with Judge that touches on the trouble he's had with this movie. One interesting bit that I haven't seen reported elsewhere is that when Judge got tired of begging the studio for money to finish the film, Robert Rodriguez helped him with some of the digital effects. Those Austinites damn sure stick together.

A final word of advice: If you get the chance, see this movie in a mall theater. That's how I saw it, and as I left, I viewed the crowd around me in an entirely new (humorous) light. It was like getting an entire second feature for free. I stopped for gas at a 7-11 on the way home, and noticed a sign for some new desert, enticing patrons to "Indulg Yourself." 500 years until the fall of mankind? Shit, we'll be there in 50.

- Micah