mike judge's IDIOCRACY (2006)

one of the most interesting things about Idiocracy is that at its core it's terrific science fiction, the likes of which we rarely see on film. instead of spacecraft-filled interstellar vistas or alarmist fantasies of totalitarian dystopias, Mike Judge takes an indignantly prescient look at a world where technology's triumphs over natural selection has taken evolution on a path that simply favors those who reproduce the most, thus yielding a population systematically dumbed down over half a millennium. this ingenious, fully realized premise then naturally gives way to the ruthless but good-natured social satire Judge has repeatedly shown his aptitude for, but the game he plays in Idiocracy differs somewhat from the character-driven comedy of Office Space and "King Of The Hill", as much of his wit is redirected into the environment, which overflows with brilliant sight gags. impressively, this detail-oriented approach to creating a believable, hilarious futureworld reveals itself as simply a situational method of achieving Judge's trademark comedic verisimilitude within the constraints of genre, and thus no less essential in his small but astounding body of work as a humorist. of more immediate importance, perhaps, the world he's built and the people who populate it collide in an unyielding synthesis of high and low comedy that, despite its shoddy theatrical treatment, will doubtlessly find a small but fervent cult fanbase in the years to come.