If you add up the incomes of every lead character in a Mike Judge movie or TV show, they probably wouldn’t earn enough to buy a used double-wide. Beavis and Butthead make zero. Hank Hill, the propane salesman from Fox’s animated hit King of the Hill, makes in the mid-to-upper five figures, about the same as Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), hero of the tie and short-sleeved dress shirt set in cult favorite Office Space. But Judge’s taste in heroes is not to be dismissed as a rich man poking fun at the less-than-rich. Au contraire, Judge merely uses these people as the conduits through which he can unload his unique brand of social satire. But with Idiocracy, Judge throws in all his chips in an attempt to extrapolate the end result should our current course of human evolution continue.
This is clearly something he’s considered on an ongoing basis, as evidenced by the surfeit of visual detail, most of it very clever. But Idiocracy feels like dozens of post-its being passed off as a novel. Surely, it’s very funny as it skates on the brilliance of the premise. But Judge is unable to create a sturdy structure to house what’s on his mind. The plot lurches and feels incomplete and one senses that too much footage was cut in a vain attempt to get the film to a place where Fox would deem it releasable. This may be why it languished on Fox’s proverbial shelf for over a year, before being dumped into theaters in six markets with nary a critics screening or any promotion. It did seem very odd; the concept was so juicy, that fans understandably wondered how bad the movie could possibly be for the studio to treat it this badly, especially considering the dreck that routinely spews from the studio system. Consider, for example, the hot genre of torture porn as seen in the Saw films and others; this surely bodes ill for civilization, but those films target an easily-led audience meaning easy money for studios. Idiocracy, on the other hand, is a tougher sell. It’s a smart movie about dumb people. Or, more specifically, it’s a very funny, but poorly realized smart movie about dumb people. Fox clearly did not see the upside in such an enterprise, which is a shame.
Maybe it’s better off as a cult comedy. Certain audiences may not see the film as insulting or a cautionary tale. In fact, certain audiences may actually prefer an America where the President of the United States is a three-time wrestling champion who drives a motorcycle while drinking beer. But this is the world of 2505, the world where Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson, the Wilson with the normal face) finds himself after submitting to an army experiment in 2005. Like other Judge heroes, Joe is an average person who doesn’t make much money; he’s content to sit at his post and watch Cops until his pension kicks in. With no friends, family, or future, he’s the perfect male candidate to participate in an experiment aimed at freezing soldiers and thawing them when needed. Since the army couldn’t find a suitable woman, they settle on a prostitute, Rita (SNL’s Maya Rudolph). When the base is shut down and replaced with a Fuddruckers, Joe and Rita are completely forgotten about and left in their cryogenic tombs for 500 years. As dramatized hilariously, during their extended naptime, civilization continued to get dumber, because dumb people do most of the wanton procreating. Extend this 500 years and you’ve got an America that can’t figure out how to water its crops and whose most popular television show is called Ow, My Balls.
Joe is eventually extricated from his metal coffin after an enormous garbage avalanche lands him in the living room of attorney Frito Lexus (Dax Shepard, fully embracing his character’s stupidity). As Joe walks around 26th century Earth, completely bewildered, Judge really gets his satire on. City-sized Costcos include law schools; Starbucks offers lattes and hand jobs; water has been replaced by a sports drink; Carl Jr.’s new tagline is “Fuck You, I’m Eating”; and, Fuddruckers finally changed its name to the inevitable: Buttfuckers. Not since Airplane! has a film been so filled with razor sharp asides and it’ll take multiple viewings to feel satisfied that you’ve seen them all. But such is the ripeness of Judge’s premise, which continues as an IQ test taken in prison reveals that Joe is the smartest man on Earth. The President (Terry Allen Crews) names him Secretary of the Interior and entrusts him to induce the crops to grow, something that hasn’t happened in decades. All Joe wants, of course, is to get back to the relatively genius-filled 21st century. For that, he’s trusting Frito, who claims to know the whereabouts of a time machine (spelled “time masheen” on a hand-drawn map). But first he has to survive further incarceration and a stint on the primetime revenge/reality show Monday Night Rehabilitation (imagine The Running Man meets Gladiator).
Wilson doesn’t have much to do, other than looked pained and confused as he ushers us through this strange and remedial world. Rudolph is fairly well wasted and I’m still trying to understand why she thinks every loud noise is her 21st century boyfriend somehow stalking her across the centuries. The best performance is by anyone who looks stupid enough to make me laugh, like Anthony Compos, who plays the Secretary of Defense. Also terrific is the narration by Earl Mann, whose career includes films from the NFL, so you can imagine the gravitas he brings to the ridiculous story of man’s frightening future.
Adherence to plot is not Idiocracy’s strong suit. Adherence to character isn’t the film’s strong suit either. So no matter how funny the jokes and how convincing the world (and it is very funny and conceptually complete), it’ll never be more than a string of gags. The movie is stuffed to the gills with visual cleverness of a type that is downright cathartic for those who feel society is headed in just this direction. However, I would have gladly traded the bottom 20% of the visual gags for a 20% more sustainable and smooth running plot. Such trades, of course, are impossible. But had such a negotiation been achieved, Idiocracy would be one of the great modern social satires, instead of a half-realized comedy. Still, this half-realized comedy is funnier than most fully realized comedies.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Fox did me (and by extension, anyone reading this) the disservice of sending out a transfer containing periodically visible Property of Twentieth Century Fox watermark. So I’m not sure about the final product picture quality. (We’re requested the commercial release and I’ll revisit quality problems when it arrives.) The DVD I viewed was pretty good, but has issues. Small object detail is excellent, a key consideration given all the street signs and billboards that contain little jokes. Color accuracy is above average. The predominant color is dusty brown, but there’s still plenty of room for bold reds and yellows. All brighter hues are fully saturated, with no fuzziness or bleeding. I was a little disappointed in the contrast, which is below average during nighttime scenes. Blacks are very strong, but shadow detail is not up to par. I found one or two instances of pretty blatant mosquito noise in exterior daytime scenes. Dynamic range is, overall, solid. It’s an above average transfer that is still lacking in some key areas. I hope these problems are resolved in the commercial release.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix does the job, while also providing unexpected punch when needed. Surrounds are engaged mainly to support the futuristic sound effects, as cars whiz by and various beeps and boings pepper the soundtrack. Dynamic range is so-so. The enormous drilling machines late in the film have some bottom-end to offer, but otherwise, bass action is pretty standard. Highs are few and far between, but nothing sounds even remotely shrill or harsh. Dialogue intelligibility is excellent and natural sounding with a nice depth. A nice, warm soundtrack with occasional bits of complexity and aggression.
The DVD also features a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 track, and English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
I was quite disappointed in the number of extras included, especially because that number is one. I imagine Fox is waiting to see if the DVD achieves cult liftoff, after which a full-blown special edition will magically appear. But for now, all we get is a weak collection of Deleted Scenes. The five bits are of little value, which further makes me think the film never had a fully executable script. If these bits were better, I’d think that Fox felt it had a real movie, but panicked and began a misguided attempt to save a movie that was fine the way it was. The only funny deleted scene has Rita looking for the Museum of Art, only to find the Museum of Fart. Inside is the usual array of natural history museum-type exhibits, except everything makes a fart noise. Video quality is very good.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
For Fox to shelve Idiocracy, it would have to be as underachieving as the dunces who populate the 26th century America depicted in the film. And while it’s true the plot can be charitably called loose, the film contains a barrelful of razor sharp satirical jabs that will have you laughing out loud, while wondering if the film isn’t actually a documentary sent back in time to the present day as a warning of what’s to come. As a film, Idiocracy is 20% “worth being dumped” and 80% “Fox mishandled the funniest movie of the year.” As a DVD, it’s got an okay transfer and a disappointing number of extras. But for those lamenting the intellectual downfall of civilization, you’ll find a kindred spirit in Mike Judge. For those embracing the intellectual downfall of civilization, Idiocracy is the best drama of 2007.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / 2006 / 84 Minutes / R
Interested in Idiocracy? Here are a couple clips from the DVD:
"A Whole New World #1"
vids.craveonline.com/videos/00003462/idiocracy__a_whole_new_world_1.html
"A Whole New World #2"
vids.craveonline.com/videos/00003463/idiocracy__a_whole_new_world_2.html
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