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Idiocracy

EMAILPRINTTwentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Idiocracy reviews
64
7.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 8 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 81 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: Mike Judge (also story)
Etan Cohen

Directed by: Mike Judge

Release Date:
Theatrical: September 1, 2006
DVD: January 9, 2007

Running Time: 84 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for language and sex-related humor

Starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, Sara Rue, and Terry Crews

Private Joe Bowers (Wilson), the definition of "average American", is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program, set 545 years in the future. He discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

There's a good chance that Judge's smartly lowbrow Idiocracy will be mistaken for what it's satirizing, but good satire always runs the risk -- of being misunderestimated.

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80

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

It elicits so many laughs, in fact, that you have to wonder just what Judge did to piss off the suits at Fox so much that they would willingly torpedo one of the only genuinely hilarious movies to come out this year.

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80

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

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.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Idiocracy, is often stingingly funny -- and an undeserving resident of the summer's-end movie dumping ground.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The delivery in Idiocracy is frequently flat, but it's vision is dead-on.

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60

Variety Robert Koehler

A satire for its time. What Judge is less sure of here than in his previous, perfectly pitched live-action comedy "Office Space," is how to build a complete movie around his key ideas.

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40

LA Weekly Robert Abele

If you crave a lively and funny trek through the farcical possibilities of unchecked dimwit power, Judge is still your guy. Just go rent "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" instead.

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40

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Judge races through some of his most provocative ideas in the opening minutes and ignores his story's many logical inconsistencies; the movie is bracing for its bile but ultimately more frustrating than funny.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 81 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Bob B gave it a2:
The movie is basically just an ego trip for normal people. The jokes are pointed out excessively, its unrealistic, dumb satire.

Mike W gave it a10:
I'll still be discussing this film with my buddies 50 years down the road - I've never had any other film provoke so much thought about the direction of mankind and society as Idiocracy has. The irony of this film is amazingly well-hidden under a thick veil of fart jokes and anatomical references, intentionally hidden from the two audiences that it seeks to satirize: the snooty crowd that probably didn't make it through the first 30 minutes of the film (and likely rushed home to their computers so they could write some very negative reviews), and the mainstream crowd that was too busy laughing at "OW, my balls!" to notice that they're the heel of the humor. Mike Judge proves, once again, that he is the true spokesman for my generation.

Andrew J. gave it a9:
Absurdly funny, although clearly not for everyone. There are a few parts at which I practically rioted in my living room with laughter, which recompensed some of the film's shortcomings.

Paul M gave it a10:
cutting satire about American "culture". A must watch for any member of the mtv generation.

Michael L. gave it a9:
So frighteningly close to where the world stands today intellectually, you might find it hard to laugh. But it's brilliant, biting satire with some of the funniest visuals in recent memory. The cast is uniformly excellent, and if this film doesn't make you run out and read a book, nothing will.

Joseph S gave it a10:
Selling products depends on dumbing people down to the point where they will buy pretty much anything at the company's price. The film exposes this, hilariously, and that is why, when Fox figured it out, they pulled the plug. There is an even darker strain to this movie, which is the horrible implications for democracy when the people raising the most children tend to be the ones least capable of being rational citizens.

Jon K gave it a10:
Definitely one of the funniest satires I've ever come across in my lifetime. The parallels are so dead on it's scary. Those of you rating this movie 0 most likely missed the underlying message. This movie should be required viewing for every incoming highschool class.

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