As a big fan of Office Space, I followed the story behind this film's release for two years. I felt like I was going to die if I didn't see the movie soon. And in my anxiety to see this film, I think I set my expectations a bit high. The film is hilarious, but don't expect the quality, and pure hilarity that made Office Space what it is. However, that doesn't mean it isn't one of the funnier comedies of 2006... it is. It contains some of the biggest laughs I've had with a movie all year.
The film follows Joe Bowers, statistically the most average man in the military, who is chosen as a guinea pig for a human hibernation experiment the military is conducting. Along with a prostitute named Rita (Maya Rudolph), he is cryogenically frozen, and the two are almost instantly abandoned and forgotten when the base is shut down. Joe wakes up in the year 2505, where the world has sunk to the intelligence level of Beavis and Butt-head due to dumb people breeding far more than smart people. He is discovered by the people of the future to be the smartest man alive, and is unwillingly forced to solve all the world's problems...
This film is one of the funniest movies of 2006. After such disappointing comedies this year as You, Me, and Dupree, and The Break Up, Idiocracy was a welcome gift. Mike Judge has always made me laugh my ass off. Beavis and Butt-head, King of the Hill, and Office Space are all comic genius, and combined with the seemingly endless release delays, my expectations went through the roof. Ultimately, the film made me laugh harder than half the movies released this year, but had some major, actually, near-fatal flaws, that were only saved by the brilliant jokes.
First the good. Idiocracy is filled with hilarious jokes and sight gags, that will make you laugh just thinking about them. Watch for a great gag involving a Carl's Jr. vending machine and an unfit mother. Classic. The interesting thing is that the gags wouldn't be nearly as clever in any other premise. Simple dick n' fart jokes are made intelligent, as the people in the future think they're the funniest thing in the world. Also, jokes at the expense of major corporations such as Starbucks, Costco, Carl's Jr., Fuddruckers etc... are all priceless. As a social satire, the film is a masterpiece. As much as I hate to admit it, the idea that in the future, mankind will be dumbed down, is as logical an explanation as I can imagine. The film's hilarious prologue will help it make sense. And while it probably wouldn't be nearly as lighthearted as portrayed here, it's a believable scenario.
Now the bad. The film feels incomplete, and isn't well put together at all. The set designs, and special effects are all good, but the story is rushed, and feels like it was edited in a day with little to no effort put into it. The story isn't used to it's full potential (Luke Wilson's attempt to help the future's crops grow is certainly funny, but isn't enough to carry most of a movie. More issues like these would have been great), and while the narrator is pretty funny, he starts to get tiresome after the first forty minutes, and basically just fills in for what could have been interesting plot development. If you thought Office Space was underdeveloped, this will make it look complete. Also, Maya Rudolph was annoying as hell (just real whiny, and overacts like mad). In most comedies, these problems could be seen past, but with the film's brilliant premise, I expected more. Idiocracy is to Office Space what Mallrats is to Clerks. Idiocracy and Mallrats are both very funny and entertaining, but both lack a certain charm that their predecessors had.
Overall, the good outweighs the bad, and I give Idiocracy a 7/10.
It is rated R for Language and Sex-Related Humor. Sex: 5/10 Violence: 3/10 Swearing: 6/10 Drugs: 4/10
The film follows Joe Bowers, statistically the most average man in the military, who is chosen as a guinea pig for a human hibernation experiment the military is conducting. Along with a prostitute named Rita (Maya Rudolph), he is cryogenically frozen, and the two are almost instantly abandoned and forgotten when the base is shut down. Joe wakes up in the year 2505, where the world has sunk to the intelligence level of Beavis and Butt-head due to dumb people breeding far more than smart people. He is discovered by the people of the future to be the smartest man alive, and is unwillingly forced to solve all the world's problems...
This film is one of the funniest movies of 2006. After such disappointing comedies this year as You, Me, and Dupree, and The Break Up, Idiocracy was a welcome gift. Mike Judge has always made me laugh my ass off. Beavis and Butt-head, King of the Hill, and Office Space are all comic genius, and combined with the seemingly endless release delays, my expectations went through the roof. Ultimately, the film made me laugh harder than half the movies released this year, but had some major, actually, near-fatal flaws, that were only saved by the brilliant jokes.
First the good. Idiocracy is filled with hilarious jokes and sight gags, that will make you laugh just thinking about them. Watch for a great gag involving a Carl's Jr. vending machine and an unfit mother. Classic. The interesting thing is that the gags wouldn't be nearly as clever in any other premise. Simple dick n' fart jokes are made intelligent, as the people in the future think they're the funniest thing in the world. Also, jokes at the expense of major corporations such as Starbucks, Costco, Carl's Jr., Fuddruckers etc... are all priceless. As a social satire, the film is a masterpiece. As much as I hate to admit it, the idea that in the future, mankind will be dumbed down, is as logical an explanation as I can imagine. The film's hilarious prologue will help it make sense. And while it probably wouldn't be nearly as lighthearted as portrayed here, it's a believable scenario.
Now the bad. The film feels incomplete, and isn't well put together at all. The set designs, and special effects are all good, but the story is rushed, and feels like it was edited in a day with little to no effort put into it. The story isn't used to it's full potential (Luke Wilson's attempt to help the future's crops grow is certainly funny, but isn't enough to carry most of a movie. More issues like these would have been great), and while the narrator is pretty funny, he starts to get tiresome after the first forty minutes, and basically just fills in for what could have been interesting plot development. If you thought Office Space was underdeveloped, this will make it look complete. Also, Maya Rudolph was annoying as hell (just real whiny, and overacts like mad). In most comedies, these problems could be seen past, but with the film's brilliant premise, I expected more. Idiocracy is to Office Space what Mallrats is to Clerks. Idiocracy and Mallrats are both very funny and entertaining, but both lack a certain charm that their predecessors had.
Overall, the good outweighs the bad, and I give Idiocracy a 7/10.
It is rated R for Language and Sex-Related Humor. Sex: 5/10 Violence: 3/10 Swearing: 6/10 Drugs: 4/10