In Case You Missed It: ‘Idiocracy’

There’s a reason why Mike Judge’s 2006 film, ‘Idiocracy,’ falls under the “In Case You Missed It” banner.  After the film’s production and re-shoots in 2004 and 2005, 20th Century Fox sat on the film for nearly a year.  The film had poor test screenings, and in September of 2006, the film was released in seven cities.  Even this was done with little fanfare, only a handful of posters in movie theaters and absolutely no trailers or TV spots to promote it.  Some have speculated that Fox’s disfavor with the film came from Judge’s views on corporate America.  Depictions in the film that put companies like Costco and Carl’s Jr. in less than favorable light may have caused Fox to get cold feet on the project.  The fact that it received a theatrical release of any kind seems to have stemmed from a contractual obligation.  Nonetheless, the film gained a release on DVD, and, much like Judge’s 1999 ‘Office Space,’ ‘Idiocracy’ has gained a cult following.

In the film, Luke Wilson plays Corporal Joe Bauers, the most average guy the US military has ever employed.  Due to his commonness, Joe, as well as a prostitute named Rita, played by Maya Rudolph, are chosen for a military experiment.  They are to be placed in a hibernation chamber for the term of one year.  The project is forgotten about when the officer in charge is arrested, and the military base is demolished for the sake of building a Fuddruckers.  500 years pass, and society has devolved into stupidity.  Everyone is a moron, the economy is in the toilet, and, a la ‘Wall*E,’ garbage is stacked into building-size mounds. After an avalanche of garbage dislodges Joe and Rita’s sleeping pods, they are awakened.  Now, the two find they are the most intelligent people on a planet of idiots.  With the help of an idiot native named Frito Pendejo, played by the hysterical Dax Shepherd, the two try to find a time machine, because, being in the future, they had to have perfected the art of time travel, right?  Along the way, they try to flee the police and even come across the United States government run by President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho, played by Terry Crews.

‘Idiocracy’ is a hilarious movie, but it is also fair warning from Judge as to the state we may find ourselves before too long.  The film’s brilliant opening segments shows two, different sets of people.  A middle-class, fairly intelligent couple find themselves struggling in becoming parents while a low-class redneck continuously impregnates various, idiotic women.  Once Judge’s film jumps the 500 years to the future, we find ourselves in a precarious situation.  The film is a statement about a society of morons, but one also finds themselves struggling from laughing at the very things Judge is warning us about.  The number one movie of all time is ‘Ass,’ a 90-minute movie that just shows a man’s ass that passes gas once in awhile.  The film has won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.  The number one television show in Judge’s world is “Ow! My Balls!,” which is 30 minutes of a guy getting racked and hit square between the legs.  The Gatorade-like beverage Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator has virtually replaced water, because “it has electrolytes.”  All of these are humorous and inventive ways in with Mike Judge depicts his world of idiots.  It is all so ridiculous it’s funny, but you just know the days of having mile-long Costcos and fast-food restaurant vending machines are not that far off.

Judge’s film can be viewed as a stupid comedy, but it is also a very accurate satire of a possible future of our society.  Every scene is filled with referential comedy but also very realistic ideas for the ways certain things might be going.  Billboard ads put it bluntly when they say, “If you don’t smoke Tarryltons… F### You!”  Carl’s Jr.’s ad has gone from “Don’t Bother Me, I’m Eating” to “F### You, I’m Eating!”.

‘Idiocracy’ is all things in one, an extremely funny movie that delivers machine gun-speed laughs throughout and an extremely intelligent and through-provoking look at our dystopian future.  The fact that 20th Century Fox dumped the film for flimsy reasons is a travesty.  As it was, the film made just over $444,000, a fraction of its budget.  Had it been released to the masses, it could have become quite a force at the box office.  Granted, Fox, I’m sure, weren’t too keen on releasing another ‘Office Space,’ a film that made the studio very little in profit in 1999, but found its way once released to video stores.  With ‘Idiocracy,’ Judge might not have made a film as funny as ‘Office Space,’ but he definitely made a film that is every bit as satirical and biting as that.

As a side note, in 2007, Omni Consumer Products, a company that produces fictitious products for the real world, unveiled their own version of Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator.   The drink was marketed through viral videos on YouTube, the first of which you can check out right here:

It’s got electrolytes!