Idiocracy

Plot synopsis:
The narrator (Earl Mann) explains that natural selection is indifferent to intelligence, so that in a society in which intelligence is consistently debased, stupid, irresponsible people easily out-breed the intelligent, creating, over the course of five centuries, an irremediably dim and sexually motivated dystopia. Demographic superiority favours those least likely to advance society. Consequently, the children of the educated élites are drowned in a sea of promiscuous, illiterate, proletarian peers.In 2005, Corporal Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), a US Army librarian graphed as the Army's "most average" soldier, and Rita (Maya Rudolph), a prostitute terrified of her pimp, Upgrayedd (Scarface) (pronounced: upgrade, two Ds for "a double-dose of this pimping"), are guinea pigs in a secret, year-long, military hibernation project. They are sealed in their hibernation chambers, to be awakened a year later, but the experiment is forgotten when the officer in charge, Lieutenant Colonel Collins (Michael McCafferty), is arrested for having started his own prostitution ring under the tutelage of Upgrayedd. The military base is demolished, and a Fuddruckers (eventually devolving into Buttfuckers) is built on the site.Five hundred years in the future, their hibernation chambers are jarred open in the 'Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505', reviving both of them. Joe crashes into the house of Frito Pendejo (Dax Shepard), a typical, idiot citizen of the American future, whose dwelling is full of junk food with a prominent, giant television screen that is covered with adverts. His name, Frito Pendejo, is a haphazard combination of a product mascot (Frito Bandito) and the Spanish slang word insult.Frito is watching Ow! My Balls!, a popular TV program that lives up to it's name with very little artistic effort. Joe is disoriented and unable to exercise the discretion necessary to allow Frito to watch his program. Consequently, Joe is thrown out the window his capsule just broke. Joe stumbles into a hospital, where slacker Dr. Lexus, MD (Justin Long), diagnoses him as simply "'tarded" and "fucked up". Dr. Lexus panics on discovering that Joe has no barcode-tattoo on his left wrist, and so cannot be scanned for automatic debit payment. Having noticed that the date of a magazine he finds on the doctor's desk (Hot Naked Chicks and World Report, 3 March 2505) has the same date indicated on his bill, Joe finally grasps that 500 years have passed since the Army put him in stasis. He is alarmed by the sights of the collapsing world (decaying buildings cabled to each other, mountains of garbage, a freeway that ends in a drop off, etc.) and flees the hospital, only to be arrested at a Carl's Jr. junk food vending booth for not paying his hospital bill and for not having a barcode tattoo.At trial, Joe's public defense lawyer ("Attornee at Law") is Frito Pendejo, Esq., who stupidly helps convict him, citing the prosecutor's insistence that Joe is guilty and his own anger at Joe for damaging his house (in the garbage avalanche). Joe is imprisoned; a poorly-designed I.D.-tattoo machine re-names Joe as "Not Sure" (because he is not sure about his name as it appears on some form) and barcode-tattoos him as such. During a mandatory (and very simple) I.Q. test, Joe grasps just how stupid humanity has become. Easily escaping his dim jailors, Joe returns to Frito's apartment, asking him if a time machine exists to help him return to the past, to 2005. Frito claims there is one, but agrees to help only after Joe promises him billions of dollars from a savings account that Joe will open in the past upon his return. Frito is unable to understand the concept of compound interest, but takes Joe's word for it that Frito will earn 30 billion dollars minus the 20 billion dollars for expenses making 80 billion dollars.En route to the time machine, Joe and Frito find Rita. She does not know that she's been asleep for 500 years until Joe tells her, and even then, she expects Upgrayedd will find her. Frito leads them to a city-sized Costco, where Joe is re-arrested when he accidentally allows his barcode to be scanned; instead of prison, Joe is delivered to the White House. President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) has seen Joe's I.Q. test (scoring him as the most intelligent man in the world) and recruits him as Secretary of the Interior to correct the United States' food and crop shortages, dust bowl, crippled economy, mountains of garbage, and related matters. The other cabinet members are lampoons of contemporary politicians' nepotism, corporate loyalty corruption, and over-emphasis on sex appeal in political media coverage.Joe learns that water has been replaced with Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator (which Joe likens to Gatorade) a drink advertised as "rich in electrolytes", for virtually every purpose, including crop irrigation. The Brawndo Corporation, in an effort to boost their own sales, had, in the past, started a campaign claiming that water was only good for use in toilets. Over time, the electrolytes in Brawndo accumulated in the soil, killed the crops, and caused the food shortage. After giving up on explaining to the cabinet that electrolytes are not conducive to plant-life, Joe reintroduces the practice of watering crops. However, overnight, the Brawndo Corporation's stock becomes worthless, causing great unemployment without visibly improving the crop situation. The angry populace riot, Joe is made the scapegoat, and is sentenced to a day of "rehabilitation"; an execution disguised as a public demolition derby, billed as "Monday Night Rehabilitation". Meanwhile, Rita discovers that the soil has made crops sprout in the fields. To save Joe, with Frito in tow, she bribes a television cameraman to show the sprouting crops to the world. Before reaching the crop field, Frito and the cameraman are distracted by a sale at a Starbucks chain brothel franchise; only after they quarrel and fight does Frito remember his duty and film the crop sprouts. President Camacho sees the thriving new plants on the stadium's big-screen televisions, and grants Joe a pardon just as he is about to be incinerated with a flamethrower.At the celebration, Joe decides to stay and help repair American civilization; President Camacho names him Vice President of America. He also learns that the "Time Masheen" is just an amusement park ride, with a historical theme, wherein Charlie Chaplin was leader of the Nazi party who used dinosaurs to wage war on the world, and the U.N. (pronounced "The Un") "Un-Nazied the world forever". Joe serves a short term as Vice President, then is elected as Camacho's successor. Joe and Rita marry and have the world's three smartest children, while Frito Pendejo takes eight wives and fathers thirty-two of the world's stupidest children, echoing the introduction to the film.After the credits, a third hibernation capsule is shown opening, releasing a snappily dressed Upgrayedd into the world, who struts down the street, as a pimp is wont to do.

Tags: comedy, bleak, cult, absurd, satire, brainwashing

Review:
I had anticipated it for a long time, and was afraid going in that it couldn't possibly live up to my expectations.It exceeded them.I adored this movie.Hilarious from start to finish (stay until after the end credits!), it is absolutely remarkable how a movie about dumb and annoying characters can be so intelligent, witty, and engaging.With it's obvious matte paintings, the movie's future Earth recalls the Planet of the Apes series and other Sci-Fi movies of that era.In fact, this movie is essentially Planet of the Apes, but with people who are the mental equivalent of apes.It moves at a fairly brisk pace, and Luke Wilson carries the movie quite well, with a character that recalls the one he played in "Bottle Rocket." (There's even a not-so-subtle nod to "Bottle Rocket" in an early scene).Maya Rudoulph is also surprisingly good as a former "painter" who was frozen as well.Despite all its strengths, "Idiocracy" has the distinct feel of a movie that was taken away from the director/editor before it could be fine-tuned.I cannot for the life of me understand why a movie this funny would just be dumped into a few theaters with no advanced screenings, no trailers, no marketing whatsoever.It's as if the studio decided they were not going to spend any more on it and just walked away.Or maybe they thought the movie had the makings of a cult classic, and the only way for it to become a true cult classic was to set it up to fail?
Whatever the case, it is a shame, because Mike Judge and this film in particular deserve better.I predict this movie will have real legs on DVD, and word of mouth will propel it to the success it deserves.Perhaps the Fox Executives saw themselves in the characters, were confused, and thought it was a documentary?.
Note the times in the film when Joe and Rita almost subconsciously conform to the idiots around them, and you realize that Idiocracy is not created to pick on any group of people in particular, but on the culture of idiocy in general.
Some people will see the crass humor and aura of stupidity, and find Idiocracy to be one of the stupidest movies they have seen.
What these people don't seem to understand is that the crass humor is there, not to amuse the audience, but to show what appeals to the morons in the future.Luke Wilson is well cast as an "average Joe." He is mainly there to be a foible for the biting commentary about society that is spread throughout this film.
Then, I go back and re-watch Idiocracy, and realize how good it is.The few people who have seen and enjoyed this film are able to be part of an elite club.
Most of the negative reviews I've read seem to come from people who just don't get it or are film snobs.It'll probably play for one week in the selected markets so if you miss it, keep an eye out for the DVD, it'll be worth the rental and I will eventually have it in my collection.Good Job Mike Judge, it's a shame that you got screwed, but you made me laugh out loud and I look forward to the next movie you do..
you guessed it.One hopes that a longer, better version of this comedy will eventually surface on DVD, and it will become the cult fave it deserves to be, but even in this mutilated and somewhat comic- spirit-diminished form it's one of the more memorable films of the year-- a screech of disgust against our culture and all the ways it's become trashified, stupidified and uglified in the name of appealing to the yahoos.
This movie is "the" stupid comedy of the year, and quite possibly the best thing from Mike Judge since "Office Space".
Although the DVD touts very few "bonus features", this film is certainly funny enough to make up for it's perceived "lack of value".This movie is about an army grunt by the name of Joe Bowers (played by Luke Wilson) who is part of a top secret Army experiment designed to preserve Army personnel in peace time so that they can be thawed in war time to fight for our country.
Now Joe and Rita have to find their way to a time machine to get back to the year 2005 with the help of Frito (played by Dax Shepard).What I really enjoyed about this movie was Mike Judge's comedic satire on the course of US History over the last 50 years, and how mankind progresses over the subsequent 500 years.
If you are not a fan of Mike Judge, did not care for "Beavis and Butthead", or do not have a sense of humor, then this movie probably isn't a good match for you.
Beavis and Butthead was most popular with teen-aged boys, the very people at which it incessantly poked fun.With that in mind, I don't think the humour in this movie is aimed at the super intelligent.
I remember seeing him in Zathura and thinking, "This guys looks like an idiot." In this movie, he makes a great idiot.
Mike Judge's Sci-Fi comedy is set in 2505 but it could come true in about 10 years (if things continue as they are.) Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph get frozen in a top secret army experiment and wake up in a future full of consumer zombie inbred retards.
A futuristic world populated by pampered, self-indulgent morons spoon-fed by the technology of a bygone era: this idea has its precedent in H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" amongst other satires.Early in the film, a narrator explains the quick degradation of humanity over five hundred years, but does not fill in the gaps of where all the futuristic technology came from in the meanwhile.
As in "Brave New World", the society in the film seems to have reached a point of automated self-sufficiency at some point in the past (apparently created by the now-extinct 'smart people' in order to placate an increasingly stupid populace), leaving the remainder of humanity free to indulge all the worst, most selfish impulses they can come up with, and grow even stupider.
Mike Judge saves his real hate for the intelligent people in power who are dead by the time the film begins, but who are very much alive right now, in the 21st century.
It's just there for the viewer to pick up, or not, but it is one of the most interesting themes in a movie that's much smarter than any other comedy of the year.Pity that so many people will leave the film thinking it's just an excuse to show rear ends farting and people being hit in the groin.
The character flaws associated with the stupid people in the film are more prevalent than ever, so it does make you wonder how far we could evolve in the next 488 years.It's easy to associate this with younger generations and blame them for our devolution, but the truth is that they're just the manifestation of what the rest of us created..
I laughed until I went to work and saw that some of the people around me were behaving like the dumber characters in the movie.
Anybody who doesn't get this movie please do the intelligent thing and don't make any comments like, I didn't get it, or I thought it wasn't funny, or worse, make a comment about the fx.
Where this story will gain its cult status is with the numerous funny one-liners, like "can we family style her" and "hey man, I'm 'bating here!" This is a funny movie and a rather sharp social commentary on an American society that seems to be fatuated with self pleasure, comfort and stupidity, and I guarantee you that I will be buying this on DVD the first day it comes out and watching it over and over..
Yes. But I don't want to be too long-winded, because I don't want to cushion the shock of what I'm about to say.You know how stupid the people in this movie looked to you?
But as soon as you remember that this is still earth, and still humanity in front of you, concern hits you again even while you are laughing.Overall, this film presents a serious message about the lack of respect for intelligence in our modern society in the only way it can do so without causing outrage: as a comedy.
But during his slumber there is a scandal on the base and it's closed down, the incubators forgotten about.Flash forward 500 years and the human race has been incredibly dumbed-down, following the orders of super-conglomerates, talking in a warped language of unintelligible slang syntax, wanting nothing more than to sit in front of a big screen TV and watch moronic shows while being bombarded with commercials for unessential products while the planet turns into a giant trash heap.
It's a shame this film didn't find legs in the cinemas, but like Mike Judge's other cult hit, Office Space, I'm sure it will find an audience on DVD.
Really hard to believe there's anyone on the planet who doesn't get this movie......Deserves to be in the top 10 comedies of all time.....Somewhere along the way we've lost artistry and gain a gapping hole in the name of what everyone wants to hear....GOD save our future.
I live in Italy, a peripheral country of the US empire, and here almost every film released in USA is dubbed and distributed in our theaters.Any movie but Idiocracy.
As I discovered reading its trivia section, it has been ignored even in its own country, and after watching it I understand the reason why: it is totally political incorrect since the beginning, but when the viewer discovers who will be the president of the United States in the future then he/she realizes that it is not simple comedy.
I don't get why it is not part of the documentary genre but I guess that's because it's hard to believe that someone like Donald Trump could rise from a reality TV star to actually garnering enough votes to become the leader of the free world.Trump nearly destroys the civilized world and only then do his followers realize a very stupid man and woman from the past can use their high school level understanding of science to save the world.This is a hilarious movie that depicts what can happen if you stop thinking for yourself..
I put this movie on the same level as stories like "Fahrenheit 451" or "1984" because it makes people take a second look at their lives and question the reason that certain systems are in place.
I believe, however, that people NEED to be reminded to think for themselves and question the world around them and "Idiocracy" does this in a wonderfully silly way..
The corporations have completely taken over, and the Chief Executive is a man named Camacho (Terry Crews), a championship wrestler and porn star.Written by Mike Judge ('Beavis & Butt-head', 'King of the Hill', "Office Space") & Etan Cohen, and directed by Judge, this movie really didn't deserve the fate that it received.
"Idiocracy" is brilliant, and I'm glad Mike Judge and his associates persistently worked around a corporate blockade of the movie's public presentation.
The entire movie is about what's happening now, not just in America as most of the world like to think.
Idiocracy is a very funny movie, really hilarious at times, that depicts a near future where people and society have involved into a bunch of brainwashed illiterate idiots.
The dialogues, play of words, and the items of misspelling are really funny.Despite the fun and the silliness, Idiocracy is a metaphor of our modern world, of where our modern world is heading to, and a very clever critique of the exaltation and institutionalisation of idiocy, money over education and skills, and the proliferation of rudeness and bad manners as the new normal way of being.Luke Wilson is always great a playing ridiculous characters with conviction, and this is the case also here.
Joe and Rita now have to find a way back to their own time while trying to communicate and work with people that are no smarter then the average toddler.The main meat of this movie are all the little visual gags and jokes revolving around the extremely stupid society.
To be fair, Idiocracy did not have much of a theater run so it attained cult status a little later in life.Luke Wilson stars as an ordinary Joe who gets transported into the future where he becomes the smartest person on Earth because everyone gets dumber.The film satirizes our worsening media consumption habits, corporate sponsorship and are lowering nutritional standards (before the Michelle Obama era) among other things.
Luke Wilson taking an IQ test and being placed as a cabinet level position alongside dumb people who got where they are through nepotism and other ridiculous reasons is just hilarious.There are some surprisingly good comic performances.
B&B were funny because we all knew kids like that in High School and as adults, looking back at them is sad but simultaneously, they were happy with their bleak future because they were too stupid to know better.And that's what Idiocracy is all about.
Mike Judge's 'Idiocracy' is a delightfully engaging satirical science fiction comedy, that appears more relevant than it did years back during its unsung release.
I think some people don't like this movie because they see themselves in it and have hurt feelings.
which, for me, makes the movie all the more funny and (hopefully not, but who knows) true.If you enjoy Office Space, Old School, science fiction movies, or you would just like a laugh that doesn't make you dumber - SEE THIS MOVIE!!.
Judge's 'Idiocracy' is a comedy about a world that is inhabited by stupid people only.
People want to watch 'stupid' movies rather than something smart.
I think this movie went straight to video and that is so sad.The best movies are always ignored, while the worst get seen by everyone.The cover of the DVD says "From the creator of Office Space!".While that is true, it's the worst possible thing you could say about a Mike Judge movie.Judge created Beavis & Butthead AND King of The Hill.Two of the best cartoons of all time.Office Space was a very 90s, Kevin Smithish unfunny comedy.The fact that the studio thought that would sell discs proves that they think you are stupid.This movie starts with an explanation of how and why dumb people will eventually control the world.It's a very prophetic look at a future that is all too real.Then they fast forward to the future and the sad reality becomes hilarious.The leading man was an army soldier in our time who was used in a military hibernation experiment.The government cuts funding for the program and he is forgotten about.He wakes up in the year 2500 and quickly realizes he is the smartest person alive.After being given the name Not Sure, he is enlisted by President Mt. Dew to solve the crop growing crisis.This is what a comedy is supposed to be.A must see for everyone..
That's exactly what is portrayed in this America of the future, a hellhole full of trailer trash, inner city types, pure sloth, bad computers that "can't be wrong", synthetic food, and reading material that consists of not much more than Maxim-type magazines.Of course this movie poked fun at a lot of what's wrong with mainstream society today, but we really seem to be headed in that direction, considering people actually care about the lives of Paris and Britney and that they watch without wrestling even cracking a smile or shaking their head in disbelief.Luke Wilson is perfect as the straight-arrow everyman with no ambition that is selected in an Army experiment that is forgotten waking up in the future 500 years that finally gets a challenge in his life.Main downside to the movie is it tends to drag around between 1/3 and 3/4 of the way through..
Luke Wilson is very funny, the movie is insightful and made me laugh so hard I had tears running down my face several times.
As long as you have relatively thick skin and can understand that the film is meant as satire, then it's a good bet for anyone....except stupid people.PS--Please watch the film all the way to the very end--past the credits.
The intent is to unfreeze the soldiers for a time of emergency in the future.Things go wrong, fortunately, for the purposes of plot development.Bauers unfreezes many centuries into the future along with a woman who is also part of the experiment.They find themselves in a time where, despite their average intellect, they are the smartest people on the planet!Despite sounding like this could be real "Beavis and Butthead" territory (archetypally stupid cartoon characters), this movie does have a surprising level of sophistication.
An intelligent movie about stupid people.
I had a great surprise with this; I wasn't expecting too much from a movie that tells the story of a guy that sleeps during 500 years and wakes up in a world where everybody is stupid and the world itself is a mess, but I found that it was amazing how the writer/director of Idiocracy made the theme "dumbness" become so intelligent.I don't see it like an adventure or comedy movie by the fact that it has a huge critic behind all the funny hypothetic situations.
In Children of Men, Michael Caine's character Japer asks "Why are we infertile?" If he was in Idiocracy, he would have been the third smartest person in the movie after Maya Rudolph and Luke Wilson, and he'd probably ask "Why are we stupid?" In Mike Judge's Idiocracy, Judge takes a look at society today and it's effects on the future.
The future, like i said above,is ruled by stupid people.