 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Idiocracy
- Review Date: September 2, 2009
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Vulgar satire manages to be both stupid and smart.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the movie's sharp-toothed satire is loaded with a lot of strong language, jokes about sex, and physical comedy involving blows to the crotch.
What's the story?
In the present, an Army private named Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) is frozen as part of an experiment in cryogenics; a mistake means he's left frozen until 2505, where he and his fellow participant, a prostitute named Rita, (Maya Rudolph) discover a world where the trend of less-educated people to have more children (as explained in the prologue) has led to a future full of idiots with society breaking down and a drought starving America. Joe, a perfectly average man in our time, is now a super-genius by comparison; can he help fix a broken future and put it on the path back to being even barely functional?
Is it any good?
Written and directed by Mike Judge (Office Space, Extract), IDIOCRACY was notoriously abandoned by 20th Century Fox, who opened it on only a handful of screens during its initial theatrical run. On DVD, the film feels re-cut, as if the studio were hedging its bets, but even so the film's silly satire comes through, helped in no small part by Wilson's natural everyman charm.
Judge's comedy can be hit-or-miss in Idiocracy, but at the same time it's a product of such a distinctly skewed worldview -- Judge is, after all, the man who gave us Beavis and Butt-head -- that it also stands out as unique even in the light of its occasional failures and in its studio-altered version. Idiocracy is more silly than mean-spirited, and the film's jokes mocking the traditional vision of the future earn a lot of laughs (here plants are watered with sports drink and Costco is a degree-granting institution). The movie is uneven, but it's so idiosyncratic and different that at the very least it stands out on its own.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the ideas here -- does pop culture reward people for being stupid? Is a culture of instant gratification and consumerism bad for long-term intellectual development?
Families can also talk about the movie's satirical roots -- what does this vulgar, silly comedy have in common with the work of, for example, Jonathan Swift?
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AGE
Definitely a lot of sexual content, and language. Funny and interesting movie, but might be inappropiate for younger people.
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AGE
Underrated and funny satire by none other than Mike Judge
In the year 2505, a perfectly average man from the army that was frozen in an experiment from 2005 learns that...human society has dwindled down to the lowest level there possibly is. In this world, the most popular TV show is "Ow! My B*lls", a movie aptly titled "A**" swept the Oscars, Costco is a mini-city, and the president is named Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. Not to mention, the man from the army, and his cohort, a prostitute named Rita, are now the smartest people in the world. This biting satire is also a cautionary tale about how mindless programming and commercialism will eventually turn the world into a mass Idiocracy. (I was being sarcastic.) Think Harrison Bergeron meets Wall-E (but not in space) and you're not too far off. In terms of content, this is probably fine for most young teens and older. There's a lot of slapstick violence, such as an impeachment trial becoming a monster truck deathmatch. But the reason Idiocracy got an R rating is because of the f-bombs (there were about 10 or 11). There are also some sexual references; for one thing, Rita's a prostitute. Also, we see some of the Academy Award winning movie (in the time period) called "A**", which, of course, is just a static shot of a bare butt. We see this go on for about 3 seconds. There's more innuendo, but it's about as bad as Mike Judge's other movies and TV shows. As can be expected, there's a lot of product placement, including Carl's Jr., Lexus, Mountain Dew, Crocs, Fritos, Velveeta, Starbucks, Fuddruckers, and H&R Block. But it's not all needless - there's clearly a point to all of the product placement. Overall, Idiocracy was pretty good, and if you're a Mike Judge fan, it's required viewing.
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AGE
For mature kids that understand evolution ( and popular culture) enough to joke about it
My 7th grade student covered evolution this year. This movie proposes the posibility that natural selection may be redifined for our species since we are the top of the food chain and exert such controll of our environment. And the proposition is a silly and sad statement about the social selection that we have created in our society. What if the stupid inherit the earth?
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AGE
I just don't get it.
Okay, yeah, sure. It swears and they have lots of inipropraiate, (I don't care if i spelled that wrong), things but still. you really think after watching that movie your kids will start swearing and stuff? Think about it. Though it kind off depends on your kid, lol. I suggest that you watch the movie and listen to every single detail and then maybe you'll let you kids watch it! I watched the one on comedy central and I'm 10 actually I think I was 9 when I watched it for the first time and they blocked out some of the bad words except a--, and
whr-e and maybe one or too more so yeah.
Also the thing where the guy gets hit in the "lower area" is so funny god lol.
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AGE
"I was somewhat disappointed"...
when I read this movies plot I thought it had promise. Was I horribly mistaken?
No, it did have potential. But it didn't use in the best ways. It got boring and crazy at the same time.
If you're an adult,give this movie a chance. your kids might get bored.
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| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | Mike Judge |
| Cast: | Dax Shepard, Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 84 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | September 1, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | January 9, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | language and sex-related humor |
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