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Idiocracy

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Idiocracy
Film poster in the style of Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" showing an imperfect slob
Promotional poster
Directed byMike Judge
Written byMike Judge
Etan Cohen
Produced byMike Judge
Elysa Koplovitz
Michael Nelson
StarringLuke Wilson
Maya Rudolph
Dax Shepard
Terry Alan Crews
Narrated byEarl Mann
CinematographyTim Suhrstedt
Edited byDavid Rennie
Music byTheodore Shapiro
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • September 1, 2006 (2006-09-01)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2-4 million
Box office$495,303 (original run)

Idiocracy is a 2006 American film, a satirical science fiction comedy, directed by Mike Judge and starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews.

The film tells the story of two ordinary people taken into a top-secret military hibernation experiment to awaken in a dystopia wherein advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, and coherent notions of justice and human rights.

Despite its lack of a major theatrical release, the film has achieved a cult following.[1]

Plot

During the prologue, a narrator (Earl Mann) explains the story's premise that in modern society, natural selection is indifferent toward intelligence, with the result that in the future, stupid people (who reproduce more often) will greatly outnumber the intelligent.

As the story begins, Corporal Joe Bauers (Wilson), a U.S. Army librarian, and a prostitute named Rita (Rudolph) are selected for a suspended animation experiment; but the experiment is forgotten when the officer in charge is imprisoned for having started a prostitution business of his own.

Five hundred years later, where the narrator explains the average I.Q. has dropped to somewhere in the lower twenties, Joe and Rita's suspension chambers are opened by the collapse of an immense pile of garbage; whereupon Joe enters the apartment of local citizen Frito Pendejo (Shepard), and is driven from the apartment by its occupant. At a hospital, Joe discovers the present year and is arrested for not paying his hospital bill and for not having a bar code marked on his left arm. Meanwhile, Rita learns to take advantage of those around her to earn money by erotic seduction.

While imprisoned, Joe is renamed "Not Sure" by an identifying machine, and takes an I.Q. test before escaping. Joe returns to Frito's apartment, asking Frito whether a time machine exists to help him return to 2005; whereupon Frito claims to know of one, but agrees to help only after Joe promises to open a bank account under Frito's name in Joe's time, which will remain untouched, gaining interest money, giving him billions of dollars. En route to find the time machine, Joe and Frito find Rita; later, Joe is arrested again and taken to the White House to become Secretary of the Interior, on grounds that his I.Q. test identified him as the smartest man alive. In a speech, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Crews) charges Joe to correct the nation's food shortages, dust bowls, and crippled economy within the space of a single week.

Joe initially professes ignorance; but discovers that the nation's crops are irrigated with a Gatorade-like sports drink named "Brawndo", whose eponymous parent corporation had earlier purchased the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Communications Commission. When Joe has it replaced with water, without visibly improving the crops, massive unemployment causes riots, and Joe is sentenced to die in a demolition derby featuring undefeated "Rehabilitation Officer" Beef Supreme (A.Wilson). But Rita discovers that Joe's reintroduction of water to the soil has finally prompted vegetation in the fields, and Frito shows the thriving crops on the stadium's display screen, and the President gives Joe a full pardon.

Thereafter the President names Joe Vice President; and Joe and Rita later find that the 'time machine' mentioned earlier is a highly inaccurate history-themed amusement park ride. Joe is subsequently elected to the presidency. Joe and Rita marry and conceive the world's three smartest children, while Frito, now Joe's Vice President, takes eight wives and fathers thirty-two of the world's stupidest children. After the credits, a third suspension vessel releases Rita's former pimp, Upgrayedd.

Cast

Production

Early working titles included The United States of Uhh-merica[2] and 3001. Filming took place during 2004 on several stages at Austin Studios[3][4] and in the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Pflugerville, and Round Rock, Texas.[5] Test screenings around March 2005 produced unofficial reports of poor audience reactions. After some re-shooting in the summer of 2005, a UK test screening in August produced a report of a positive impression.[6]

Release

The film's scheduled release date was August 5, 2005, according to Mike Judge.[7] In April 2006, a release date was set for September 1, 2006. In August, numerous articles[8] revealed that release was to be put on hold indefinitely. Idiocracy was released as scheduled but only in seven cities (Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Mike Judge's hometown, Austin, Texas),[4] and expanded to only 130 theaters,[9] not the usual wide release of 600 or more theaters.[10] According to the Austin American-Statesman, 20th Century Fox, the film's distributor, did nothing to promote the movie;[4] while posters were released to theatres, "no movie trailers, no ads, and only two stills,"[11] and no press kits were released.[12]

The film was not screened for critics.[13] Lack of concrete information from Fox led to speculation that the distributor may have actively tried to keep the film from being seen by a large audience, while fulfilling a contractual obligation for theatrical release ahead of a DVD release, according to Ryan Pearson of the AP.[9] That speculation was followed by open criticism of the studio's lack of support from Ain't It Cool News, TIME, and Esquire.[14][15][16] TIME's Joel Stein wrote "the film's ads and trailers tested atrociously", but, "still, abandoning Idiocracy seems particularly unjust, since Judge has made a lot of money for Fox."[15]

In The New York Times, Dan Mitchell argued that Fox might be shying away from the cautionary tale about low-intelligence dysgenics, because the company did not want to offend its viewers,[17] noting that in the film, Starbucks delivers handjobs, and the motto of Carl's Jr. has degenerated from "Don't Bother Me. I'm Eating." to "Fuck You! I'm Eating!"[18]

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking Budget Reference
United States United States International Worldwide All time United States All time worldwide
Idiocracy September 2006 $444,093 $51,210 $495,303 #6,914 Unknown Unknown [19]

Box office receipts totaled $444,093 in 135 theaters in the U.S.[20]

Critical reception

Idiocracy was not screened for critics; its much-delayed release received virtually no publicity, and the film was initially distributed to only 130 screens. Despite this, the film received generally favorable reviews by critics. Rotten Tomatoes returned a 74% "fresh" rating based on 38 reviews by critics,[21] whereas Metacritic gave a score of 64% based on 8 critics, and a 7.4/10 rating by 81 site users.[22]

Praise focused on concept, casting, and humor; the worst of the criticism was directed at the film's release issues or at special effects and plot problems. Los Angeles Times reviewer Carina Chocano described it as "spot on" satire and a "pitch-black, bleakly hilarious vision of an American future", although the "plot, naturally, is silly and not exactly bound by logic. But it's Judge's gimlet-eyed knack for nightmarish extrapolation that makes Idiocracy a cathartic delight."[23] In a review only 87 words long[9] in Entertainment Weekly, Joshua Rich gave the film an "EW Grade" of "D" stating that "Mike Judge implores us to reflect on a future in which Britney and K-Fed are like the new Adam and Eve."[24] The AV Club's Nathan Rabin found Luke Wilson "perfectly cast [...] as a quintessential everyman"; and wrote of the film: "Like so much superior science fiction, Idiocracy uses a fantastical future to comment on a present [...] . There's a good chance that Judge's smartly lowbrow Idiocracy will be mistaken for what it's satirizing."[13]

In other countries the film was reviewed positively. John Patterson, critic for The Guardian (U.K.), wrote, "Idiocracy isn't a masterpiece - Fox seems to have stiffed Judge on money at every stage - but it's endlessly funny", and of the film's popularity, described seeing the film "in a half-empty house. Two days later, same place, same show - packed-out."[25] Brazilian news magazine Veja, the largest in the country, called the film "politically incorrect", recommended that readers see the DVD, and wrote "the film went flying through [American] theaters and did not open in Brazil. Proof that the future contemplated by Judge is not that far away."[26] Critic Alexandre Koball of CinePlayers.com (Brazil), while giving the movie a score of 5/5 along with another staff reviewer, wrote, "Idiocracy is not exactly [...] funny nor [...] innovative but it's a movie to make you think, even if for five minutes. And for that it manages to stay one level above the terrible average of comedy movies released in the last years in the United States."[20]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Entertainment Weekly
All Critics Top Critics Audience
Idiocracy 73% (41 reviews)[27] 67% (6 reviews)[27] 57% (56,383 reviews)[27] 64/100 (8 reviews)[28] D[29]

Home media

Idiocracy was released on DVD on January 9, 2007 with fullscreen and widescreen aspect ratios, deleted scenes, English and Spanish spoken language tracks, and subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. As of February 2007, it had earned $9 million on DVD rentals, over 20 times the limited theatrical release.[30]

On September 1, 2007, Idiocracy opened for cable and satellite viewers on the Cinemax premium channel, and started airing on HBO networks in January 2008. On February 15, 2009, the film received its basic cable premiere, shown edited for TV on Comedy Central. One written use of the word "fuck" was still shown, in the parody of the restaurant Fuddruckers known as "Buttfuckers" (removed since the premiere).

In the United Kingdom, unedited versions of the film have been shown on satellite channel Sky Comedy on February 26, 2009 with the Freeview premiere shown on Film4 on April 26, 2009.

Analysis

The idea of a dystopian society based on dysgenics is not new. H. G. Wells' The Time Machine postulates a devolved society of humans, as in the short story "The Marching Morons" by Cyril M. Kornbluth, akin to the "Epsilon-minus Semi-Morons" of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.[31][32]

In August 2011, Meghan Daum compared the behavior of notable U.S. politicians, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Palin, and the US Congress to the characters in Idiocracy and has argued that in the United States, both liberals and conservatives claim that their opponents are contributing to an Idiocracy-like world.[33] Jackson Browne calls Idiocracy a 'great societal barometer'.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Walker, Rob (May 4, 2008). "This Joke's for You". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  2. ^ Pierce, Thomas (January 11, 2007). "So What Idiot Kept This Movie Out of Theaters? (3rd item)". NPR. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Idiocracy at Austin Studios. Facilities usage". Austin Studios;. Austin Film Society. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  4. ^ a b c Garcia, Chris (August 30, 2006). "Was 'Idiocracy' treated idiotically?". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  5. ^ "Texas Film Commission Filmography (2000-2007)". Office of the Governor. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "Mike Judge's Idiocracy Tests! (etc.)". Eric Vespe quoting anonymous contributor. AintItCoolNews.com. August 22, 2005. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  7. ^ Franklin, Garth (February 28, 2005.). "Mike Judge Still Not In "3001"". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2010-08-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Carroll, Larry (August 30, 2006). "MTV Movie File". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved February 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ a b c Pearson, Ryan (September 8, 2006). "The mystery of 'Idiocracy'". AP. Retrieved November 25, 2006.
  10. ^ About Movie Box Office Tracking and Terms. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  11. ^ Kernion, Jette (October 22, 2006). "Time for Mike Judge to go Indie". Cinematical.
  12. ^ Patel, Nihar (September 8, 2006). "A Paucity of Publicity for 'Idiocracy'". Day to Day. NPR. Transcript.
  13. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (September 6, 2006.). "Idiocracy (review)". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Vespe, Eric (September 2, 2006). "Open Letter to Fox re: IDIOCRACY!!!". Ain't It Cool News.
  15. ^ a b Stein, Joel (September 10, 2006). "Dude, Where's My Film?". Time Magazine.
  16. ^ Raftery, Brian (June 1, 2006). "Mike Judge Is Getting Screwed (Again)". Esquire.
  17. ^ Mitchell, Dan (September 9, 2006). "Shying away from Degeneracy". New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2006.
  18. ^ Adawi, Kamal (August 8, 2008). "Idiocracy is Pure Genius". MBAcasestudysolutions.com. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  19. ^ "Idiocracy (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Idiocracy". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved February 2, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "mojo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Idiocracy". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  22. ^ "Idiocracy". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  23. ^ Chocano, Carina (September 4, 2006). "Movie review : 'Idiocracy'". calendarlive.com. Retrieved September 29, 2010. [dead link]
  24. ^ Rich, Joshua (August 30, 2006). "Idiocracy (2006)". ew.com. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  25. ^ Patterson, John (September 8, 2006). "On film : Stupid Fox". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  26. ^ "Idiocracy". veja.com (in Portuguese). Brazil: VEJA. March 21, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2010. ...o filme passou voando pelos cinemas americanos e nem estreou nos brasileiros. Prova de que o futuro vislumbrado por Judge não está assim tão distante.
  27. ^ a b c "Idiocracy". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  28. ^ "Idiocracy". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  29. ^ "Idiocracy". Entertainment Weekly. August 30, 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  30. ^ "Idiocracy - DVD / Home Video". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  31. ^ Tremblay, Ronald Michel (November 4, 2009). "Humankind's future: social and political Utopia or Idiocracy?". Atlantic Free Press. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  32. ^ William Norman Grigg (May 14, 2010). "Idiocracy Rising". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  33. ^ Meghan Daum (August 18, 2011). ""Daum: Invasion of the idiocrats"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  34. ^ Tom Lanham (August 3, 2011). "Jackson Browne continues clean-energy quest". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
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