Seen: January (30th?), 2007
Format: DVD
Rating: 6
This is a Mike Judge film. That right there may tell you whether or not you want to see it.
This one's hard for me to rate. I can't rate it too high, because its got too many juvenile, one-off gags that tend to drag it down to be considered truly great. But it's also got a fantastic premise, and shows us the results of the premise in a way that's funny only because it's accurate and painful.
It's in trying to serve both these ends that Idiocracy doesn't quit hit the mark.
Idiocracy functions similarly to Office Space, another Judge product, in that it juxtaposes comedy and social commentary. But in the case of Idiocracy the ends of the spectrum are much more extreme. The line between humor and social commentary still exists here, but the film takes a much wider stance over the line. The commentary is more pointed, and occasionally borders on the bitter. The humor is broader, lower, becoming slapstick at times. I guess that means that there's something for everyone, but it also means that you have to put up with the other guy's half.
The issue at the heart of the film, the dumbing down of America, is brilliantly satirized. The conceit is consistent and carried through almost every element of the film. The problems generated via hyperbolizing the issue are funny, but disconcerting and unsettling. In the case of slapstick humor, the film is even self-critical, admitting to being part of the problem. Judge is great at this. He has a keen eye for stupidity, and in particular American cultural stupidity, and he's finally moved from referencing it to dedicating an entire film to it.
If really couldn't care less about the message, that's all right, there's entertainment inside the film for you too.
The Good: Poignant social commentary.
The Bad: The Trashvalanche.
The Ugly: Entertainment isn't all that different.
1 comment:
I bet this script was a brilliant read. The (d)evolution of language and popular culture was spot-on harsh satire. Just the way I like it, with a focus on the words.
"Welcome to Costco, I love you"
The infinite piles of trash and reality TV sequences were weak. So were the main characters and story. That's where it fails, it often overshoots its satirical targets while completely lacking an engaging narrative and sympathetic characterizations. The movie is only good in the context of rewatching to pick out lines and background jokes. I still can't get enough of the scene with Dr. Lexus, though.
The whole movie is packed with so many quotable lines and memorable moments, it's just a shame that it's not great.
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