Idiocracy [DVD]

I somehow missed this when it came out, having dropped out of the rat race and moved to a small, hip (but unfortunately cinema-less town) for exactly the reasons that the creators of this film must have felt compelled to make it. Yes, in realty as in the film, natural selection (besides the all too marginal Darwin Awards), largely seems to have ceased to play a role in human reproduction and the general advancement of the species; yes, it seems that exactly the wrong people, i.e. the Jerry Springer-ites, the People's Court mobs, the Fast Food Nation legions, the WWF fans, the monster truck afficionados, Scarface and gangster rap wannabes, the religious nuts, and wild eyed, gun rights obsessed country kooks, etc. etc. are indeed the ones out-reproducing the gifted, thoughtful folks who should be reproducing by at least ten to one. The plain dumb, blind greed of recent times: the dull drift towards instant self gratification, the endemic, autonomic texting and repetitive, pointless gaming, the encroaching shallowness, incuriousity, dispassionateness, and uncultured obliviousness of so many people just idly filling their time, gratifying their medulla oblongatas, and stuffing their faces.... Idiocracy explores the implications of these dummied down trends in broad, slightly disturbing, yet hilariously inventive and intuitive strokes. As a recent 8 year high school teacher, I was absolutely thunderstruck by this film. The movie seemed to be welling up from my subconscious, like a lucid dream or vision, or comic nightmare, rather than from a DVD player. It's sci-fi meets broadly and boldly stroked, inventive humor and sharp social satire. By the end, I was laughed out and purged; I felt in good company; somehow I felt bolstered, comforted, and redeemed.Luke Wilson, an average guy in the midst of the criticically dumb Bush years; a guy with no big dreams or ambition, looking for an easy ticket in an army records facility to coast through life towards a decent retirement, is "volunteered" for an army experiment to be cryogenically frozen, along with a prostitute trying to avoid jail time, and is to be awakened in one year. When the officer in charge of the experiment is busted for pimping with his new friends (the prostitute's pimp and associates) the project is forgotten and the building is bulldozed to make a Fudruckers. Luke wakes up in a trash avalanche 500 year later in a world that has been steadily dummied down, in which the people speak a mix of hillbilly, inner city slang, product names and guttural noises. Though some people may miss the overall satire and only see the "dumb guy" humor (like the ones being satirized) the movie is as sophisticated as Gulliver's Travels or a wacky Clockwork Orange, using both "dumb" humor (though pehaps "innocent abroad" might be a better term) as well as scathingly dead-on and inventively hilarious satirical comedy to explore our current state and meditate, though somewhat light-heartedly, on where it all might lead us.Luke Wilson is a gem and carries the movie throughout the wild situational and character comedy with a straight faced innocence and sincerity that recalls the best of Buster Keaton. If the masses do not know or regard him as one of our most talented comic actors, or recognize the film as a cult comic masterpiece, it is because they are as dopey and oblivious as most of the characters in the film. Masterpiece is a risky word, but like many under-appreciated films of the past, this film, I strongly predict (if people don't get any stupider) will only grow in stature as a document from a time when things began to go seriously wrong, though the perceptiveness and comic spirit of the film is in itself cause for hope. It might seem raunchy and rough for some of our more effete film viewers, but look around: this film scores a rare comic and social bull's eye, however appropriate or improper one may perceive its humor. If you consider how well and to what larger purpose the "dumb guy" humor is used (unlike the largely pointless "Hangover" or "Pineapple Express") this is as sharp and as funny a social satire as has been produced in a good many years.

This movie can almost give you a glimpse of what it will be like in 50 years. Low budget but heck of a good movie to watch.

What can I say, other than I'm old enough to have seen a lot of this movie come to fruition? LolHilarious movie overall! Definitely on the top favorites from the late 90's/early 00's era. If you like movies like Road Trip, Bio-Dome, and Super Troopers - then, add this one!

This movie is pretty good and seems like it could be a documentary of what the world is becoming.

If you enjoy early 2000's comedies as much as I do, Idiocracy is basically a cult classic. You've got Dax Shepard, Maya Rudolph, and Luke Wilson — the only thing missing is Brendan Fraser, and honestly, I'm still offended he wasn't in this. Like, c'mon, it was his prime era.Yes, it's rated R, but let's be real — early 2000's R was like a slightly spicy PG-13 by today’s standards. The plot? Ridiculous. The acting? Passable. The overall experience? Chef's kiss.This is the movie to put on when you want to turn your brain completely off. Like, zero brain cells required. Just curl up on the couch, smoke a little pot, inhale an unhealthy amount of ice cream and potato chips, and prepare to laugh at humanity’s downfall. 10/10 recommend for lazy, mindless entertainment.

This is a funny one!!!

Regular

A perfectly normal man and woman get put into cryogenic storage to test how well storage works, but something goes hideously wrong and they end up sleeping for 500 years. When this Adam & Eve wake up, they discover that the world has "dumbed down" in their absence, thanks to the increased breeding of less-intelligent people and decreased breeding of more-intelligent ones. People spend their time watching television in special toilet-recliners, eating food from tubs with their hands, and visiting fast food places that specialize in prostitution. The President of the United States is an ex-porn star and wrestler; his Cabinet consists of severely limited people and one adolescent who "won a contest." Costco is now a Mos Eisley city all its own, complete with its own law school. In this world, the "normal" Joe discovers he's now the smartest man alive, and now he has to decide if he's going to help this society of the future with one of its most pressing problems: a drought and food shortage that they just can't figure out themselves.I found this story to be absolutely fascinating! The soundtrack is amazing, the bleak future is very well-portrayed and detailed, and the storyline, while seriously flawed (it assumes that stupid people always breed more stupid people, while some of our smartest people have come from really disadvantaged backgrounds, and that smart people always breed more smart people, which is quite obviously untrue), makes its point. The pace is quick and energetic, with no real slowdowns; the characters are compelling and well-drawn--not for nothing is President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho considered one of the best movie presidents of all time on one popular YouTube channel. Considering its treatment of corporate culture and known brands like Hardee's and Starbuck's, I can easily see why this movie didn't get the wide release it really deserved. People who loved "Office Space" and "Brazil" will like this title, I think.In terms of content, this is definitely one for older teens and adults. It doesn't directly show any sex and it's not violent, but there are some very mature concepts and near-constant references to sex, as well as hints of drug use and alcoholism. The DVD includes a couple of deleted scenes and some other content, but not a whole lot.